Life's Full of Little Surprises
by Hiding in the Shadow
Summary: Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of hi
1. Surprise, Surprise

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**hockey-girl90-** Thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the idea. Feel free to read on and review at will!

**mickEmousina-** Thank you for the complements. I couldn't wait to get started either. I'm not sure if this will have a Julie/Portman twist on it, but that would certainly make things interesting. HMMM?

**CandieBabie30-** I'm glad you like, READ ON!

**PrincessH-** I enjoy Tammy/Fulton as well, I always thought there was a little something going on between the two in the first movie. Actually, I've read some of your stories and I think that they are really good. Glad you like. You really want to find out who she falls for, then keep reading!

**ZELINIA-** YEA... I've piqued interest! I figured the background info would be helpful, that way I wouldn't have to explain every character when they arrive on the scene. Please enjoy.

**pipsqweek91-** First off, I'm glad you're interested. Secondly I sure hope you are speaking figuratively when you say the suspense is killing you, because I think you dieing would be a bad thing. Read on, my good reviewer.

(-------)

Dani had lugged her bag full of figure skating attire and skates to her room on the second floor her house. Her coach, Eric Orion, had told the team that he planned to have them come to Minnesota for the school year, not just the Olympics. He had decided this so that the skaters who were still in school, herself and Tammy Duncan (along with Tammy's brother, Tommy, who helped the team out all the time, and would be coming along), wouldn't have to switch gears with school. He planned for them to have a tutor, so that they could have school when he found a time that school and practice wouldn't clash. Dani sighed, her little brother Caleb would be livid. He was attached to her more then anyone else in their family, and had been upset enough when she told him that she had to go to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Olympic Games. Her twin brother Dean, however, would be ecstatic. They were very close and he would be going to Minnesota for school at Eden Hall Academy.

She got off of her bed and went down stairs to dinner. Her parents were at either head of the table, two year old Felix was sitting next to her mom, per usual, next to him was 18 year old Alec and his girlfriend Camilla, Dean and Caleb were sitting opposite them, so she sat next to her mother. "How was practice?" Her dad asked from the opposite end of the table.

"Different." She replied vaguely, looking at the peas on her plate instead of the people around the table.

"How so?" Alec asked.

_'Leave it to the moron to make me break the news here.' _She looked around at everyone, they were looking at her waiting for an answer. "Well, Coach told us that he was making plans for the team to stay in Minneapolis for the school year, so our studies don't get interrupted. Minus Gia, of course, considering she's 28."

Everyone was silent. Well, almost everyone. Caleb had yelled out 'WHAT' at the top of his lungs once this information had penetrated his brain, and Dean yelled out 'YES, you'll be in Minnesota so I can introduce you to the guys!' Caleb punched Dean in the shoulder and Dean slapped Caleb in the back of the head.

"He never mentioned anything to the parents." Her mom spoke up, finally.

"Well, his brother has some connections to some place in Minnesota, I'm not sure where, and he was going to get us a tutor so that he could make sure practice and school aren't compromised." She placed her dark brown hair, identical to Dean's but longer, behind one of her ears, "He just made the decision, so he'll be calling any minute now." Ironicly, the phone rang.

Her mother got up to pick up the phone and her father said, "I knew I liked that man. Got his priorities on straight, he does."

"Dad, when did you turn into Yoda?" She asked and everyone snorted into what they were eating at the time. Her mother walked into the room, confirmed it was Dani's coach, and inquired as to what was so funny. "I asked dad when he turned into Yoda." Her mother shot her a questioning look, "He as talking like Yoda again." Comprehension dawned on her mothers face and they started eating again. The rest of the night consisted of talk about the University of Illinios (Camilla's first year, Alec's second), Dean's normal ramble about the Ducks (mostly the most recent hi jinx of Fulton Reed, which had been communicated via telephone and IMing), and Felix adding adorableness, and annoyance, by repeating 'quack, quack' ten million times.

(--------)

After dinner Dani was sitting in the living room, reading 'Holes' by Louis Sachar for the hundred millionth time, Dean was listening to System Of A Down on his portable CD player, bobbing hid head back and forth to the beat, and Alec and Camilla were comparing their schedules, trying to find out how many times they would see each other on campus between classes.

"Dani? Dean? Could you move some of those boxes from the basement to the attic?" Dani looked up from her book at her mother.

"Why don't we just convert the attic into a room instead of the basement?" She had never understood her parents logic, but this situation took the cake, icing and all.

"It doesn't have the A/C or heating up there, besides the basement already has carpeting. Now will you do what I asked." Dani sighed and put down her book, "Thank you."

Dani looked over at Dean, who was still bobbing back and forth with his eyes closed. She picked up the pillow she had been propped up against and threw it at him. He took the ear phones off of his ear and asked, "What Freak?" He wasn't angry, he called her 'freak' all the time.

"Mom asked us to move boxes from the basement to the attic, Numbnuts." He put down his CD Player and the twins walked to the basement and looked around. It had been full of boxes before, "They moved all the small ones, oh joy." Dani commented sarcastically, Dean snickered.

"Come on Freak, we'd better get some of this done." Dean walked over to one of the larger boxes and tried to lift it, but it was to no avail, despite the strength he had acquired with help from hockey.

"Need some help, Loser?"

"Would be nice." He said, straightening up. 'Loser' was what she called him all the time. Together they picked up the box and carefully winded their way though the house.

(-------)

Half of the remaining boxes had been moved to the attic. Dani and Dean plopped on the couch, both with muscles screaming. "Thank you." They looked up to see their mother smiling sweetly at them.

"Mom, I was at practice all day, why must you torture me so?" Dani asked, messaging her wrist, which had gone to sleep. Dean muttered something about 'I second that'. "You're the big, tough hockey player." Dani joked, Dean told her to shut up.

"I do it because I love you. Your Coach called, he said that he had fixed up all the plans, and that he wants you to leave a month before school starts up there, August 28th. So you'll go down July 25th."

"Sure Mom, whatever you say." She did the calculations, "That's in a month. Dean are you coming with me?"

"Sure, I'll get to see the guys early." He mumbled putting a pillow on Dani's lap and placing his head on it. He did this all the time, so Dani didn't mind.

"Us." Dean opened his eyes to look at his mother, "I'm coming with. Your dad is taking care of Caleb and Felix while I go to Minnesota with the team, a parental chaperone kind of thing." Dani gave a look as if to say _we-need-a-parental-chaperone_! "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you."

"What about The Rink?"

"Jeannette will be taking care of it, I've already called her." Jeannette D'Argonto was their mother's best friend and business partner, together they co-owned a ice rink/skate park called 'The Rink: Simple and to the Point', The Rink for short.

"Whatever." Dani looked down at Dean, "Loser, get off me. I'm going to bed."

(------)

For the past month Caleb had been trying to get Dani to stay in Chicago, every time she told him no and he ran off crying. Dani hated doing this, but she had no other choice short of backing out of the Olympics, and in no way was she doing that.

The whole family had accompanied Dean, Dani, and their mother to the airport. They hugged everyone good-bye and boarded the plane. Dani got a seat next to the window, Dean was in the middle, and their mom got the aisle. Gia, Tammy, and Tommy were on the same flight, sitting right in front of them. Their coach had taken a red-eye that morning, so he could see his brother and niece before they had to practice.

(---------)

The girls had chattered through the whole trip. Dean and Tommy got so sick of it after a while, that when passengers could get up and walk, Tommy switched his window seat for Dani's. This only made matters better because they weren't stuck between the three, but the chattering only went up. Mostly it was things about the Olympics and Minneapolis, Tammy had lived there before, so she told them what to expect. The plane landed and Tommy and Dean actually called out 'hallelujah' and hastened off to get away.

Tammy and Tommy had relatives in Minneapolis, so they took a cab to their house. Gia was staying at the hotel that Dani, Dean, and their mother was staying at so they went there together.

After they arrived Gia went to The Mall of America for some customary arrival shopping, Dean grabbed his cell phone and ran out of the room to call the team, mainly Fulton, and Dani, who couldn't take a day of not skating, looked up the address of the nearest rink and caught a bus.

(-------)

Dani ran passed Dean outside the hotel and waved him good-bye. He waved back and dialed Fulton's number. "Hello." Answered a female voice.

"Hello Mrs. Reed, you sound as lovely as ever." He replied trying to sound suave and debonair.

"Hi Dean," the voice of Mrs. Reed said back in voice that said _'should have seen this coming'_ "FULTON!" Dean heard 'what' in the background, it sounded groggy, as if just woken up. "PHONE!"

Their was chatter and the phone being handed over, "Who are you and how dare you disturb my sleep." said the groggy voice. A long yawn followed and Dean relished in his success.

"Dude, your still asleep. Not on my watch. We got stuff to do and hell to wreak."

"One problem, Portman. You're in Chicago, I'm in Minnesota." Fulton replied, still groggy.

"Actually I arrived in this morning." He said with a smile.

"Arrived in? As in Minneapolis? As in a little over month after you LEFT? What is going on?" He was now alert and confused.

"It's complected, but I'll explain later. What are you doing today?" He was hoping to see the others as well.

"I was going to meet up with some of the guys, Adam's dad got tickets to a NorthStars game in a week." He yawned, "Do you want to surprise them about your early return?"

"Dude, you read my mind." He grinned and laughed a little, thinking of the looks on everyone's faces when they saw him again.

(------)

While Dean went to Fulton's house, Dani skated for hours. She finally got a call from her mother telling her not to skate all day long, so she decided to meet up with Gia and Tammy at the Mall of America. Little did she know what she would encounter in the bus ride.

"Seriously though, you do need a girlfriend cake-eater." Jesse Hall joked as he and his brother, Terry, looked around over their seat.

"He's right Banksie." Charlie Conway added from beside him in a singsong voice. "We all have one, now it's your turn."

Adam Banks looked over at his friends and punched Charlie in the shoulder, "I don't need a girlfriend, so would you guys just can it?" He asked running his hand through his dark hair.

"What about Julie?"Charlie added as an afterthought, thinking about Julie Gaffney, a good friend of theirs.

"NO! I'm not interested in Julie like that. Besides if you forgot, oh moronic one, she's with Scooter." He clapped his hands on his forehead, these guys were never going to let up.

"Poor cake-eater. Scared of a girlfriend." Terry Hall teased. Adam sighed, he was never going to win this argument. Sure, the others did have girlfriends, most of the Ducks had girlfriends, Connie and Guy were dating, and Julie was seeing Scooter; but did that mean he had to have a girlfriend, of course it didn't.

"Guys, I'm not scared of having a girlfriend. So leave me alone, or I'll rip up your tickets to the NorthStars game." The others looked gave mock looks of despair. He decided to change the subject as soon as possible, "When are we meeting the guys anyw..." He cut off his sentence and looked forward, completely mesmerized.

"Earth to cake-eater." Jesse said, waving his head in front of Adam's face, "Man, wake up." He was now snapping his fingers by Adam's ears. Finally the boys turned to look in the direction of Adam's gaze. Jesse gave a whistle and Terry let out a 'wow'. A girl (I wonder who?) had just entered the bus with a book in one of her hands and a bag over her shoulder. She had dark brown hair that was tucked behind her ears. She was chewing and blowing gum, not like a cow, but making chewing gum rather attractive (if that is possible).

Adam lowered his gaze as she looked at them. The other were staring at her, she made it clear that she didn't like that as she whisper 'chauvinist pigs' as she passed them. She sat three rows behind them on the opposite side of the bus and started reading.

"Come on cake-eater, start a conversation with her." Jesse whispered looking back, urging Adam on. "You never know what it leads to." He had his hand on Adam's shoulder and was looking at him with a strange look in his eyes.

"No." He replied stubbornly, removing Jesse's hand from his shoulder and looking somewhat harassed.

"Why not?" Terry asked.

"Well first of all, I don't even know her."

The others groaned, "That's the point, stupid. Talk to her and get to know her." Charlie said as though talking to a two year old about Advanced Chemistry, "This is my stop, I'll see you guys later." He shot Adam another look and stalked off of the bus.

Terry and Jesse took up the job of trying to convince Adam to talk to the girl, until their stop. They, too, stalked off after giving him a final look of annoyance. He was so glad they were off the bus, that he didn't notice the girl had moved to the seat behind him, until he looked around to see who was on. _'Oh, come on Banks. Just say hi'_.

He turned and looked at the book she was reading, it was called 'The Inferno' and was about Hell, _'What cheery reading'_ he thought. "Hi, I'm Adam. I'd like to apologize for..." He had finally gotten the nerve to say something, but she cut him off with out putting her book down.

"For your friends being chauvinist pigs who set humanity back about 1000 years?" She had a nice voice, even if it was dripping with annoyance, Adam laughed and agreed. "Well then, thanks." She lowered the book and looked at him, which wasn't really all that hard, he was kind of cute.

"Like I said, I'm Adam." He held out his hand for her to shake. She took it .

"Danielle." She said as she released his hand and looked out the window. "This is my stop, maybe I'll see you around." She grabbed her stuff and walked off the bus and to the Mall of America.

As the bus moved forward he was thinking about what had just happened _'Maybe this whole girlfriend thing wouldn't be so bad after all'_. All his thoughts were on the fact that Jesse, Terry, and Charlie would do nothing but badger him about Danielle. If he told them he talked to her, they would press him for more information. If he told them the opposite, then they would be on his case forever _'Why does life have to be so confusing?'_ He asked himself as got off the bus to walk to his house.


	2. Embarrassing Situations

**Life's Full Of Little Surprises**

**CandieBabie30-** Dani and Banks liking each other is always a possibility, but you never know. I'm absolutely ecstatic that you said that you are 'loving it so far'. That's just AWSOME!

**PrincessH- **Another reviewer who said 'love'? Dude, this is great! (Crazy happy dance) Sorry about that. Anyway, thanks for the review and I hope you enjoy.

**hockey-girl90-** If my calculations are correct, that's three people who have said 'love' for one chapter. WOOT! It could be an Adam/Dani story, but you'll just have to wait to find out. Glad you like, read on and (hopefully) enjoy.

**pipsqweek91-** Sibling rivalry does make for some interesting scenarios. I am SO glad that you think that Dean and Dani's sibling rivalry is realistic. I wouldn't know, considering I only have a sister and I don't know the differences between having a sister or a brother. Plenty of thanks for the woot for cuteness

**sinbin05-** Firstly, thank you for the review. Secondly, I am so gald you like how the story is going. Finally, I'm happy you think Dani is cool. I hope you like this chapter as much as the rest.

It seems my first chapter violated the guidelines. This is a sad revelation, but I'll get over it. If anyone is confused at all about some of my characters, then review me about it. I will be happy to fix the character notes so that they won't violate the guidelines. A big THANKS to my reviewers.

(--------)

Dani had arrived to the Mall of America with her mind so occupied that she hadn't been watching where she was going, this caused her to knock into a tall man who was pushing a girl in a wheelchair. "I am so sorry. I should have been watching where I was going." She noticed that both of them were wearing NorthStars jerseys.

"It's okay." The girl answered. She was adorable and had a sweet face with a smile that could melt the coldest of ice hearts. The man looked somewhat familiar, but Dani was sure she had never seen him before. Dani was about to apologize again, but a hand clasped her shoulder and the voice attached mumbled "What did you do?"

Dani looked around to see Gia standing behind her, "It was an accident." Dani protested sheepishly. The man and girl said that it was no trouble and walked into one of the stores, leaving Gia and Dani alone. Dani clasped her hand on her forehead, "I feel like a complete idiot." Gia laughed and lead Dani to a shop that she and Tammy had been looking around in. "So, where's the oh-so clumsy one?" Dani asked.

"I left him with the relatives." Tammy replied as she pulled out a black leather jacket, "What do you think?" Dani looked from Tammy to the jacket and back to Tammy with a wide-eyed look on her face.

"For me, yeah. For you, no." She laughed as she said this. Tammy wasn't a black leather kind of girl, everyone knew that. Tammy gave her a look as to say _no-duh-idiot_. Dani took the jacket and tried it on, it fit perfectly. "Okay, I'm sold." All three laughed and lucky for Dani, the price was right.

(--------)

Dean and Fulton were sitting in Fulton's room listening to music, as usual the volume was blasting the roof off. Despite the volume, they could hear each other and Fulton was keen to hear as to why Dean was in Minneapolis so early. "Dude, would you tell me now?" He asked as Dean mimicked the drummer of the band that was now playing.

"Okay, but you have got promise not to tell anybody anything about what I am about to say." He looked serious when he said this. Actually serious. As that ever happened?

"DUDE!" Fulton cried out and looked as to say '_this is me your talking to!'_ Dean trusted Fulton, of course, but he had secrets that he would rather stay that way.

"Okay, remember when I mentioned I had a sister?" Fulton nodded his head, "Well she's a figure skater, good to. And she made it to the Olympics, which are being held here, so her coach had her and the others come early. I'm not sure why." Then he changed his train of thought, "Now, if she would just listen to me about that stupid Triple Axle, she'd land it."

Fulton's eyebrows crashed together, "What do you know about landing Triple Axles?" Dean clapped his hand to his forehead muttered 'Did I really say that?'. "YES. Dude, do you know how to FIGURE SKATE?" He was laughing so hard that he was worried that his ribs were going to break.

"Man, shut up. It was my mom's idea and I'm not that good. I just listened to what she was talking about, so I know things, even if I can't do them." He was embarrassed to at point the he hadn't been in years.

"How does your mom know about skating?" Fulton asked, his laughter subsiding slightly. He held his ribs and waited for Dean to answer.

"She skated a little as a kid. She thought it would build character or something." He grabbed Fulton's pillow off of the bed beside him and buried his face into it. How could he be so stupid? He was always so careful to keep the fact that he knew how to do a Lutz to himself, he tended to over-rotate anyway. Why did he bring up Triple Axles? Why was he such a moron? Why was Fulton still laughing, it wasn't that funny. "Are we going to meet the guys or what?" He asked in and irritated voice.

(--------)

Terry and Jesse, Charlie, Guy, Averman, Connie, and Goldberg were sitting in a round booth at a McDonald's, waiting for Adam to bring them their tickets to the NorthStars game. Fulton hadn't arrived either, which was an unusual occurrence. The bell on the on the door tinkled and the group looked instinctively towards the door, Adam had just come in. Everyone scooted around to let him in the booth. "So, you got the tickets cake-eater?" Jesse asked as Adam sat down next to Averman.

"Do you need to ask?" Adam joked as he passed the tickets around the table, "My dad got a call before I came here. He has to go out of town so he won't be chaperoning, we have an extra ticket." He held up the two tickets left, Fulton's and the vacancy.

"Then that'll be mine." a voice passing them said as the body attached grabbed the two tickets. The occupants of the table looked, wide-eyed at Portman holding one of the tickets and passing the other to Fulton.

"PORTMAN!" The group said in unison, clearly shocked. Both standing couldn't suppress grins on their faces, this was exactly what they had been hoping for.

"Wow, they catch on so quickly." Fulton joked as he forced Guy closer to Connie, so that he and Dean could sit down.

"What are you doing here?" Charlie asked as Dean reached over to take some of Connie's fries. She slapped his hand away and told him to get his own.

"It's a long story that I would rather not have to recite now." He reached over to grab some of Connie's fries again, and she slapped his hand away again, "OH come on!" He exclaimed as she told him to get his own again. "Dammit." He said as he dug in his pocket, "I forgot my wallet back at the hotel."

"And if you had figured that out earlier, I wouldn't have to be here instead of back at the hotel, finishing up my work." a slightly irritated female voice said from behind the group, Dean was absolutely mortified. Standing near the booth, holding his wallet, was his tall, dark-haired mother. This was made worse by the fact that many of is friends were oogling at her, they actually liked what they saw, in a bad way, this was completely wrong.

He pushed this thought out of his mind, "Do you have me microchiped or something?" How did she know were he was, was the question filling his mind at the moment.

"And if I do?" Dean's eyes widened, "Calm down, Dean. I called Mrs. Reed when I found your wallet. She told me you were meeting some people here." She nodded graciously toward the group, then she walked away. Before making it to the door she turned and said, "You _can _go to the NorthStars game, just don't be to late." For the last time she turned around and left.

A low whistle sounded from Jesse, "Who was that. She is bangin'. Man, if I didn't have a girl..." He was met with agreements from Charlie, Goldberg, and Terry.

Dean narrowed his eyes and menacingly said, "She's my mother." The group was shocked, and now disturbed, "If you ever say that again, I will beat you to a pulp." He got up and bought a Big Mac value meal.

When he returned, Jesse figured the only way to get anyone to forget what he had said, was to put the spotlight on someone else, "So cake-eater, what happened after Terry and I left the bus." Adam knew this was coming, but he still hadn't been prepared for it. Charlie immediately looked interested about where the conversation was going.

"Should any of us know what you are talking about?" Connie asked as she looked around at Jesse, Terry, and Charlie, who were grinning mischievously, to Adam, who looked scared to death.

Charlie answered first, "I'll tell them." Jesse and Terry nodded, "You see, Banksie, Terry, Jesse, and I were on a bus heading downtown. At the skating rink a girl, gorgeous I might mention, gets on and it's clear Banksie is attracted. We..." He points to himself, Terry, and Jesse, "try to get him to start up a conversation with her, but he comes up with this stupid excuse as to why he won't. So we want to know if he got the nerve to talk to her or not." The rest of the team was now interested in what he was going to say, as they all knew that he was very gentlemanly and wouldn't want say something stupid around someone he was attracted to.

Adam was silent, everyone else groaned, "Did you at least get her name?" Terry asked, looking rather eager to hear details.

"Danielle. Are you happy now? Will you get off my case?" The team whooped at Adams success. His face became red, "I don't get what you guys are so excited about, I probably won't see her again."

"You never know." Charlie said as he started on the Double Cheeseburger in front of him. The rest of the team agreed, but nobody noticed Dean had gone silent ever since the name 'Danielle' had been mentioned. _'There are plenty of girls named Danielle in Minneapolis who skate, right? There is no way it could have been Dani. Besides she isn't Adam's type'._

(--------)

The week had gone by rather slowly. Dean spent every day with Fulton and the guys. He made sure that he had his wallet, so he wouldn't have to relive the team oogling his mother, and so that she could finish the work Jeannette had been sending through e-mail. After the first day in Minneapolis, Dani had practice everyday, so she wasn't around that often.

The day of the NorthStars game, Dani left early because her coach had gotten the team tickets, with help from his brother. Dean caught a cab to Fulton's and had to help Mrs. Reed with her car.

"I don't know what it is boys. I filled the gas tank, the oil has been changed, I just don't know what happened." Fulton, Charlie, and Adam groaned from the seats next to him.

"I can fix it Mrs. Reed." He said as he hoped out of the car and opened the hood. He was to busy looking around to listen to the whispers from his friends. He found what he was looking for, a part had come loose and needed to be fixed. He pushed it back in tightly, praying it would stay. "It should work now, but you need to get it to a mechanic." She thanked him and started the car as his friends looked confused, "My uncle is a mechanic, I know this stuff."

The ride had taken about fifteen minutes, so by the time they had gotten to the arena, they were terrified of being late. The others had their tickets, so they had already entered the arena. Getting past security was easy because of the lack of lines, and by the time they reached their destination the National Anthem singer was walking off the ice. But they made it to the game and were able to see the first face-off.

(-------)

Dani was sitting in her seat watching the face-off, the NorthStars captured the puck easily, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Normally she sung to herself, she knew she had a good voice, but she never sang to anyone, much less a crowd of only God knows how many people. How did her Coach Orion ever convince her to sing? Oh, right...

_Dani, Tammy, Tommy, and Gia were being introduced to the members of the NorthStars by their coach. They were talking about the differences and similarities of hockey and figure skating (mostly with Tammy's help) when the coach walked in the room, thoroughly disgruntled._

"_What's wrong Coach?" one of the players asked, "Where's..." He didn't get to finish his question._

"_She has tonsillitis and can't sing." He sighed pathetically, "How are we suppose to get someone to sing the National Anthem in ten minutes? TEN MINUTES!" It looked like the throbbing vein in his temple was about to bust._

"_Dani can sing." Tommy said almost instantly. "She is really good. I said if she doesn't make it in figure skating, then she can sing as an actual singer." Dani was scared someone was about to bring this up._

_  
"No! No I can't." Dani said in hysterics. Her team members nodded, they had all heard her sing, "I'm a shower singer guys." she added, trying to get the point across that she was terrified to sing in public._

_Coach Orion walked up to her_ _and looked her in the eye, "Dani, I've heard you sing and you're really good. Just think of it this way, you'll be helping the team, coach, and the fans." _

_Dani was thinking how the heck am I going to do all of that? She looked around at the faces in the locker room, "But...I...Well..." Everyone started to look at her with pleading faces, "Okay, fine. Just stop begging, it's pathetic."_

Dani had been horrified about going out to sing. But at the end of it she had been very well received, she even got a standing ovation. Sure it was nerve-wracking, but it had actually been kind of fun.


	3. Meetings and Reunions

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**ZELINIA-** I must take the time to thank you, so... THANK YOU! Finding out that my first chapter went against the guidelines was slightly upsetting, but I'll survive the heartbreak. Any who, I'm glad you like what is going on so far and I hope you keep enjoying as much as you have been. Dani and Adam are very opposite, but that always makes for an interesting story.

**Suzaku24-** Thanks for the review. I'm glad that you like where the story is going. I hope I can keep it as enjoyable as it has been so far.

**mickEmousina-** You seem excited for my updating, this is always a nice thing to know. When you say that you were practically peeing on yourself during the scene with Portman's mom, I sure hope that means you were laughing about it; and I'm sure when it happened to _your_ mom, it was awkward. Please read on and enjoy.

**Delibertlee-** Wooooo, a new reviewer! Thank you for the review and I hope I can keep this story interesting. It should be interesting to see what happens when the Ducks find out who is; as well as she find out who they are.

(--------)

Dean rolled over in his sleep. He was so close to the edge of the bed before he rolled over, that he rolled off... smack dab on Dani. "YEOUCH!" Dani screamed into her pillow, "Loser, get your fat ass off of me!" Dean woke with a snort, mumbled a 'huh', and noticed he was laying on his significantly smaller sister. She was flailing around under him for lack of air, and he finally removed his large mass from her. The scream had awaken their mother, who looked at both of he children with much concern. She asked Dean if he was okay, he was, and turned to Dani, "Don't worry, it was mainly my knees." She was seething, "Until his feet landed on my head." She was trying to rub her back, which Dean promptly took over through is apologies. _'He's dense and irritating, but I have to admit, he a good masseuse.'_

"Sorry Dani." He added for the ten thousandth time since he had woken up on her knees.

She nodded sarcastically, "That was painful, but I can forgive you." She told him, "If it affects my skating, I will hunt you down and gut you like a fish. Do they let you do that at Eden Hall?"

"Gut someone like a fish? I doubt it. Why are you asking about Eden Hall, anyway?" He looked as Dani's eyebrows raised and she reminded him that he had school starting in a week. "Oh, right. I forgot. Did they ever find a tutor for the team?" He asked, trying to change the subject from his school.

"Yeah. Coach met her last week and we will meet her when school starts. You know, trying to keep everything level. He told us her name, but I forgot it." Dean mumbled 'per usual' and Dani smacked him. "I'm not good with names, I'm a face person. Now leave me alone."

(--------)

The past week went by fast, too fast for Dean and Dani's liking. Sure, Dean was glad to see his out-of-state friends again, but that also meant that school approach-ith. Dani was glad to hear that the team was getting a new place to practice, but Coach Orion was being awfully secretive about it, and that made her uneasy.

Dean was ecstatic, damn near peppy, to find out that he and Fulton where sharing a dorm room. That meant more nights of listening to music and banging around the room, as long as they didn't wake Dean Buckley, of course. He was sitting in the dorm by the time that Fulton had arrived, his face obscured by a large box.

"Little help would be nice." the voice behind the box said.

"Fulton?" Dean asked, recognizing the voice of his best friend in a New York minute.

"Portman?" Dean helped Fulton put the box on his bed, "Dude, alright. I'm not stuck with a loser this year."

"Aren't all the Ducks supposed to bunk together, like all the other teams in school?"

"Oh, right. Well, I'm glad it's you." Fulton replied. "Could I have a little help with my other stuff?" Dean helped, and before long they were making their way to the auditorium in search of the other Ducks, waiting to listen to another one of Dean Buckley's long-winded, positivity boring speeches about school pride and their futures.

Finding the Ducks was not a hard feat, all of them (minus Julie) were assembled outside the auditorium talking about Adams love life, or lack thereof. Charlie had his arm around his girlfriend, Linda's, waist; as usual he was the most vocal. "I don't see way you can't just pick one, you're probably one of the most crushed guys in school." Linda looked at him, as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"You're a pig, you know that?" Adam asked, "I don't want a girlfriend, so get...off...of...my...case!" He was trying to make a point that his friend clearly wasn't getting.

"Didn't that girl on the bus say something like that? What was her name again, Banksie?" Charlie had a mischievous look in his eye. Ever since Adam had told the in-state players, and Dean, what happened on the bus, Charlie hadn't let him live it down.

"It was Danielle, and she called you, Terry, and Jesse chauvinist pigs." Linda asked what he did to deserve that, Charlie said he did nothing, "Yeah, right. Like you three weren't looking her up and down?" Linda punched Charlie hard in the shoulder.

"Gettin' beaten up by a girl. Wow, that is really sad." Dean finally decided to get into the conversation.

"Yeah, whatever. Back to Banksie." Charlie retorted, turning back to Adam, "I suggested Julie as a potential girlfriend."

"You did **_WHAT?_**" The group (consisting of Adam, Charlie, Dean, Fulton, Linda, Russ, Ken, Luis, Averman, Connie, Guy, Goldberg, Dwayne, and a few of the team members girlfriends) looked around to see Julie walking towards them, looking like a mountain lion that had been woken up to early, followed by Scooter.

"I told him he was a moron." Adam stated plainly to the looks on Julie's and Scooter's face's. Both heaved sighs of relief as the crowd started filing into the auditorium.

Once everyone was in, Dean Buckley rose to speak. He had to tell the students to be quiet FIVE times before loudly threatening to take away all sports privileges and after hours in the computer lab, this shut up the athletes and uber-nerds; then he threatened to push through the uniform policy he had been thinking about for the past few years, needless to say the rest quieted immediately. "Thank you. First off, welcome back to Eden Hall, I am sure this will be quite productive. As I am as sure that you all will support your Mighty Ducks all year." The crowd cheered, minus the remaining members of last years Varsity Ice Hockey team, other then Scooter. The rest was the same as usual; grades, pride, alumni, _'Blah, Blah, Blah! When will this be over?'_ Dean asked himself as he leaned back in his chair, waiting for the speech to be over.

After what seemed like an eternity Dean Buckley winded down, "Thank you all for your attention ladies and gentlemen," The students started to get up from their seats, "Wait a minute, I'm not finished." The students let out an involuntary groan and made their way back to their seats, "I would like to thank Coach Orion, for giving Eden Hall a wonderful opportunity." Most of the school got their attention span back, "He as made the appropriate plans for Eden Hall to host the U.S Women's Olympic Figure Skating Team, until the Olympics in a few months." Now he had Dean's _undivided _attention; that meant Dani would be here, this was certainly going to be interesting. "Now, the members will not be in classes with you, as to not interrupt their practice schedule, but I expect nothing more then respect and politeness. These girls..." Orion interrupted him by whispering 'young ladies' so that everyone could hear, "Young ladies, have worked very hard to get where they are. And they are representing the United States, you should at least be able to represent Eden Hall properly." The student body was now all ears, that hadn't happened in a while, "They will be staying in select dorm, and will be using our skating facility..." There was a loud 'WHAT' from last years Varsity members, except Scooter, who thought this year was going to be amazing. "And I have been assured that it will not interfere with Hockey. Dinner will be served at six, I will see you all then."

(------)

The first week of school went as it would normally. On the first day, nobody gave any homework, except those teachers that would be hard and strict. Fulton's first day, however, was much more interesting then he let on. He had almost every class with Dean, and all classes with at least three members of the Ducks. By the time lunch came around he went outside for some fresh air and freedom from the tension of first-day blues. He had eaten a big breakfast so he wasn't hungry, so not eating lunch gave him the outside to himself, or so he thought. He was walking near the Ice Rink, by one of the alleys that separated the it from the main school, and he heard his name being called, "FULTON!" The voice was a female's, it was very familiar, but he couldn't put a name with it. He turned to see a very pretty red head wearing a red, white, and blue wind-breaker running down the alley towards him. He knew her face, but he still couldn't remember her name, "What are you... Do you go to school here?" The red head asked, he merely looked around confused, "You don't remember me do you?" She asked with an amused look on her face.

"To be honest, not really no." He was getting red in the face.

"Well, I have changed. For one, I used to be taller then you." She laughed and unzipped her wind-breaker, revealing a green jersey with a duck on the front. He hadn't had time to process this, when the girl turned around and pulled the wind-breaker to her elbows, showing the name "DUNCAN", then it hit him.

"TAMMY!" She laughed and nodded. _'How stupid could I be? I had a crush on her from the I first met her! No scratch that, from the time I first SAW her!'_ He had met Tammy when he joined the Ducks in the sixth grade, but he first saw her on his first day of second grade, and those feelings where starting to rush back to him.

"So, what are you doing here, at Prepsville, USA?" She joked and smiled. _'She is really hot when she smiles like that. FULTON, get a grip man, there was never anything between you and her.'_

"The Ducks got scholarships after we won the Junior Goodwill Games." He was embarrassed to tell her, a former D-5 Ducks member, this bit of information.

"Oh yeah, I heard about that. Congrats Bash Brother." He noticed that his title as a Bash Brother sounded better then ever when she said it, he mentally kicked himself and, yet again, told himself to get a grip.

"So what about you?" He wanted to stop thinking about Tammy calling him a Bash Brother, so he did the only thing he could think of, change the subject.

"I'm here with the U.S Olympic Women's Figure Skating Team." He was shocked, and happier then ever, to hear this.

"You made it to the Olympics. Wow, that's impressive." He couldn't help but notice that her blushless cheeks were turning a pinkish-red, she was blushing. He looked at his watch and back to Tammy, "I had better get going, class and all." She agreed and watched him turn away.

_'Oh, come on Duncan. Swallow your pride and do something spontaneous!'._ "Fulton!" She called out, he turned and she ran up to him, _'Do this before you come to you senses and change your mind.'_ She told herself. At that point she did something very un-Tammy, she put her hand on the back of his neck, pulled him down to her level, and kissed him. She actually KISSED him, the very thing she had wanted to do since he had joined the Ducks. She was very surprised at herself, he seemed surprised as well; but neither was going to stop. That was until...

"HOT DAMN!" A voice called from the opposite side of the alley. They looked around to see a pretty brunette clutching her mouth with her hands, she moved them, "SORRY, don't mind me, I was never here, continue." She was in the verge of walking back into the rink, but Tammy stopped her.

"DANI, come here." Dani walked up to the pair, looking rather embarrassed. "Fulton, this is Danielle Portman. Dani, this is..."

"Fulton Reed." She finished. Tammy looked confused, "He's my brother's best friend. Dean was a part of the USA Ducks."

"You're Portman's sister?" Fulton asked.

"Danielle Portman; but, please, call me Dani." She held out her hand and Fulton shook it, "Now, there was a reason I came out here. Oh, right. Coach wants to talk to the team and he wanted me to see if you were finished. But I seem to have interrupted something important, I'll be back later."

"DANI. I'll see you some other time. I have to go." She shook Fulton's hand, but Dani put a hand on the back of their necks and pushed them together, thinking 'What the hell?" and then pushed them apart.

"We good now? We're good." She stated before walking back down the alley.

"Bye Fulton." Tammy said and she ran to meet Dani before she got to the door. As the two disappeared in the door, he punched his fist in the air and walked back to the main building, all smiles.

(-------)

"Will the hockey teams please report to the Mess Hall. Repeat, will the hockey teams please report to the Mess Hall. Thank you." The voice of the school's secretary sounded over the P.A system on the first Friday of school. Dean looked around his third class of the day. Fulton, Connie, Guy, and Dwayne looked at him and each other with shocked, yet ecstatic, looks on their faces. If you are going to be pulled out of class, then Exercise Physiology was the one to be pulled out of.

The five gathered their things and left the room. They met up with the rest of the team in the Mess Hall. Adam noticed something weird about Fulton when he entered the Hall, "What are you so smiley about?" He asked.

"He's been like that all week, even smiling in his sleep. It's starting to get really annoying." Dean answered.

But Fulton had a different answer, "We just got out of Exercise Physiology, I have every reason to smile." This was true, but it was not the reason he was smiling. He was smiling because he still had Tammy on his mind, and he was the only one who knew she was there. But their conversation was broken by the arrival of Coach Wilson (the varsity coach, who was walking with Rick Riley, the former Varsity captain, who was visiting on his first day off of collage), Coach Orion, the Varsity members that Wilson coached after flat-out refusing to coach the Ducks, and Dean Buckley.

"I know you all have questions, but let me talk while we walk." Dean Buckley said, passing them. He walked out of the Mess Hall, towards the front door. "I know that some of you have objections to the U.S Figure Skating Team using our facilities."

"Damn Straight!" Biff Cole, a varsity enforcer, exclaimed, Rick Reily gave him a praising look. Dean had given him a look of annoyance, and the fact that Dean put him through plate-glass last year shut him up.

"Well, I think you ought to meet the girls... I mean 'young ladies'." Coach Orion gave Dean Buckley a look that made him change his sentence. "They are very sweet and promise to have the ice Zamboni-ed off by the time you gentlemen..."

"And ladies." Julie added.

"And ladies have to practice." Dean hid a snort, not just because Julie corrected Buckley. Sweet and Dani didn't really mix, she was just like him, but she could hide it when necessary. He had the subtleness of an elephant in a china/glass shop. Dani could be the same, but could also be the mouse that scares the elephant in the china/glass shop.

They reached the ice rink a few moments later. When the group walked in, all they saw was a man doing a few spins on the ice. Then Orion called out, "Eric!" and the man stopped. They reached the edge of the ice and stepped onto in, with caution and holding onto the wall. They soon decided to get back off.

"Everyone, this is my brother, Eric Orion. He is the coach for the U.S Olympic Figure Skating Team." Coach Orion said, the varsity laughed lightly.

"Let me guess, you think Figure Skating is a pansy sport that anyone can do, with little or no practice?" He and Kenny had the same look on their face's; it clearly stated that these morons didn't know the first thing about the difficulty of figure skating, and Dean had to agree.

"Well, yeah." Cole stated dumbly.

"Really?" Eric Orion looked as though contemplating what to do, "PORTMAN, get out here!" He screamed, low rumblings started around Dean at the sound of 'Portman'. Dani skated up behind her coach.

"Yes Coach?" She sounded quite confused as to why he had addressed her, she hadn't done anything wrong.

"Lap around the rink, end in a Triple Axle, land on one blade, and don't mess it up." Dani's eyes widened.

"Okay." She was still confused, but Dean highlighted on it.

"Coach, your asking the wrong girl, Dani can't land a Triple." He looked at her shocked face, "I have $50 on that she can't land it before the Olympics." Dani smacked him on the head as hard as possible, then she started her lap. She was the fastest on the team, so it took no time at all, until she had to do the Triple Axle. She jumped up and prepared to land it, that was the best way to land a move, in her opinion; also remembering Dean's advice about her little over-rotating problem when it came to Axles. She spun in the air once, twice, three times and landed gracefully on one skate.

Shocked as she was, she skated back to her coach who said something along the lines of 'Thank you for helping me prove my point.' and she held out her hand in front of Dean, "I do believe that is 50 for me."

"Now, see, that's all you needed to land the Triple." Dean said as if he knew what would happen, he handed her $50 in 10's and 5's.

"Yeah, whatever. I have a question, what is with the 'Penalty Box Stripping' stories I keep hearing?" The Ducks laughed, "I mean, I know that you put this ape..." She pointed to Cole, "Through plate-glass, and got called on something, but if I were mom, you'd be dead."

"Mom isn't going to find out Dani." Dean said in a commanding voice, but Dani knew it as pleading.

"If she doesn't hear it from someone around this place. A lot of people keep bringing it up." Dean looked ready to plow his head into the glass. She looked at his team, "Well, aren't you going to introduce me?"

"Oh right." He told her the names of his teammates; it was clear that Charlie Conway didn't recognize her, but Adam Banks did, and she recognized him, as cute as he was on the bus a month ago, but wide-eyed that she was related to Dean. Then Dean told them her name, "She is my little sister."

"Twin sister. A minute and a half means nothing." Then Dean Buckley introduced the Varsity, Coach Wilson, and Rick Riley. Dani instantly hated them all, except Scooter Vanderbilt, he was nice. Then she noticed something, "Scooter?" He looked at her, "I just have to..." she stopped talking as she grabbed his upper arms and moved him from the Varsity to next to the Ducks, as far as she could get him from his team. "Sorry, I have a weird thing about flow." This, of course, was a complete lie. Dani didn't give a rats rear end about flow, but she moved Scooter for a reason.

"HEY SPAZWAY!" A voice called across the ice, "Quack at any principles lately?" Tommy Duncan was skating up to his former teammates. The D-5 Ducks laughed, recognizing him and yelling out 'TOMMY', leaving the others confused. Dani gave him a look and he got into a story about sixth grade and quacking at the principle.

"It was sixth grade." Charlie said defensively. The Ducks greeted him as Tammy skated up to her brother.

Dani gave a look to her and Fulton that said 'Not saying a thing', and got into the chatter. She was thinking about the irony of her situation. Tammy and Tommy had been members of the D-5 Ducks, Tammy had something going on with Fulton, her brothers best friend and teammate, her coach was her brother's coaches brother, she thought Adam was really cute, and they all were weirdly connected in one way. It seemed Gia was the only one that didn't know anything about the Ducks, except that they went to the Junior Goodwill Games. When she skated up, Dani did the introductions. But after those, her coach explained that the girls had to practice. Everyone left, and Dani was going to be sure to mention to Scooter the reason she moved him, just not now.


	4. Revelations

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**ZELINIA-** You seem really anxious to find about the Scooter thing, this makes me happier then you could think possible. I promise that you will find out soon enough what was happening. As for Adam/Dani antics, well, let's just say they will be interesting.

**CandieBabie30-** You really want me to update? Well, if you insist, then I guess I shall. Glad you like.

**PrincessH-** YEA, you loved! I do believe the many thanks are for Tammy/Fulton (go Tammy/Fulton!). I'm sorry that you couldn't review my last chapter, the same thing has happened to me before and I got really annoying after a while. But you could review this one, so thats always good. Of course I wouldn't mind if you put my story on your Tammy/Fulton community, feel free to do so.

(-------)

All of the players went back to classes, while the coaches went to their offices, Rick Reily left to go back to his collage dorm, and Dean Buckley went to a meeting with the alumni. By lunch, an hour later, almost everyone in school knew that the teams had met the Figure Skaters, and that one of them was Dean Portman's twin sister. Over the course of the day Dean had about a dozen guys come up to him and ask what she was like and what type of guy she was most interested in. He soon came to the conclusion that these people were complete idiots; who in their right mind asked a girls brother what type of guy she was interested in. Needless to say, he merely walked away when Dani came up.

As was promised, the Figure Skating Team was off of the ice (which _had _been smoothed out) by the Varsities hockey practice, which was held at 3:45 to 5:45. Their practice was the same as it had always been; drills, conditioning, plays. It was the kind of things that showed a love for winning, not a love for hockey.

Coach Wilson had a thing for promptness, so he was always starting practice at _exactly _3:45 and ending at _exactly _5:45. This was good for the Ducks, who's practice started at 6:00 and went to 8:00.

Today, practice was different for the Ducks. For one, Scooter decided to stay and watch in the bleachers. Secondly, Dani walked out from a room on the far end of rink that used to be a play room, so it had a blackboard, that was being used as a classroom.

"Mind if I sit here?" She asked Scooter as she dropped her bag next to him. He shook his head no, and she sat down while pulling out a large book, 'PreCalculus', and opened it.

"PreCal? Aren't you 15?" Scooter asked her as he looked at the complicated problem on the pad of paper on her lap.

"Yes, but I'm really good at math." Scooter looked shocked, "I comes with having a teacher for a dad. I hate math, but I am good at it. Sure, I think History and English are better and more fun to learn; but I'm good at math and science too." With that she started to complete her math home work, followed by Biology, and History.

"You sure work fast." Scooter said as she started on writing a poem for English.

"Comes with the territory of being a Figure Skater. Late practices make you finish you homework before you get to them, so that you can actual taste the luxury of sleep that night." Then Scooter asked her about her team members and their homework schedules. "Well, Gia's 28, so she doesn't have school. Tammy understand more about math and science then me, and Tommy is about the same. Apperantly, they can only do sports, yes even the Olympics, if they get all A's. It's a rule their parents set up a long time ago." She finished her poem and stowed it away in her bag. Coach Orion told the team that practice was over and to not forget to clean out the locker room in 15 minutes.

"What are your school hours like?" He asked.

"Well, was start at 7:00 and got to 11:00. Then we have lunch from 11:00 to 11:30. At 11:35 we start practicing, we stop at 3:35 so you guys can practice. We have more schooling from 4:00 to 6:00. On the weekends we practice from 7:30 to 4:00."

Scooter looked at the girl in front of him. She was tiny and smart, but he could tell that she could be a firecracker when she wanted to. Her attitude matched her brother's. It was apperant to him that Dean was very protective of her, this was _defiantly _going to be an interesting year. He was soon pulled from his thoughts by a voice yelling, "HEY, Freak!"

Dani yelled back, as if she was always called 'freak', "What Loser?" Scooter looked around to see the Ducks walking up the stairs to leave. Adam had that far away kind of look that suggested her was somehow mesmerized by something, _'Or someone. Now _this _is really going to be interesting.'_ Scooter told himself.

Dean and the team stopped him front of the, "Truth or Dare?" This caught everyone off guard. He was asking Dani this, as though they always randomly asked truth or dare. In all honesty, they did. It was their special way of communicating that they really wanted to know something.

Dani smiled and let out a small laugh through her nose; not a snort, per say, but a very cute kind of laugh. Little did anyone know, Adam had to lock his knees so that he wouldn't melt at the sight of her smile. Then she finally said, "Truth." This was always the answer she and Dean gave.

"Okay," He already had his question, and Dani knew what he was going to ask, "You know that that whole thing about 'flow' today was a load of bullshit." Dani nodded, surprising the whole group around her, "So I want to know, why did you move Scooter over, away from his team."

Everyone was now interested in the proceeding's. Dani gave another little smile; Adam had to lean against the chair to the left of him. "Because Rick Reily is gayer then the Fab Five, and he has his eye set on a former teammate that just happens to play goalie." The aftermath of this statement was quite entertaining. Julie gaged on the water she was drinking, Scooter gapped at her and looked like he was going to faint, Dean was wide-eyed, most of the Ducks were laughing, except the ones that had the vision of Rick and Scooter in their minds, they just shuttered.

"I shared a room with that guy last year!" Scooter exclaimed when he finally got his voice back. "How do you know that he's gay and interested in **_me!_**" Scooter now looked utterly petrified.

Dani laughed and licked her lips, Adam looked down at the floor, "I can tell because human behavior is a hobby of mine. Just think of it this way; you must have something working for you, attracting both sided of the tracks." Scooter raised his eyebrows, "Don't say anything bad about the gay community, I have friends who are gay. And that side-of-the-tracks comment in their wording, not mine."

**_What's the worst thing I could say, _**

"_**Things are better if I stayed"**_

_**So long, and goodnight**_

_**So loooooong, and goodnight.**_

Dani picked up her cell phone and put it to her ear, "Hello." The voice on the other end spoke, "Hi Mom. Yeah, I got it finished. I don't know. Hold on a minute." The took the phone from her ear and looked at Dean, "Mom wants to know if you are staying at the Reed's during the weekends?"

"Yeah." He stated simply.

"He is. Okay, I will. Yes, mother dear. Love you too. Bye." Dani closed the phone and put it away.

"What did she want?" Dean asked, sitting down next to her.

"She wanted to know if I had my homework finished and where you were staying over the weekend. Then she said I had to get back to the dorm at a reasonable hour and to tell you that she wants to have a _talk._" Dean smacked his forehead, "You are completely screwed."

"I noticed Dani. But thanks for the warning." He turned to his friends, "I'll see you guys on Monday. Come on Fulton, we gotta get going." Fulton followed him as he stalked out of the building to catch a bus to the apartment complex that the Reed's live in.

"I have to get going too, or my mom will blow a gasket. See you all later." Scooter was sure no one else noticed, but he could have sworn he saw Dani flash Adam a tiny wink before leaving. _'Well, this should be entertaining.'_ he told himself as he and the rest of the Ducks left the Rink.

(-------)

Scooter was driving up the road, just out of the Eden Hall campus, when he saw Adam walking up the side of the road to avoid the cars. He drove up next to Adam and rolled down the window, "Adam."

"Scooter."

"Don't you live in Edina?"

"Yeah."

"Isn't Edina an hour's walk from here?"

"I think so."

"Adam, if you haven't noticed, I am trying to get you to ask me for a ride." Adam stopped walking, "The sun." He pointed up the sky, which was turning pink and orange.

"OH, well if you are offering..."

"I am, get in." Adam got into the car and Scooter started up the road again. "Dani is one smart kid." He was going to get this out of Adam one way or another.

"Yeah, I guess." Adam stated, confused by the sudden topic change to Dani.

"Cute too." Adam just stared at him, "I mean, not for me; but you seem to like her."

"I just met her." He wasn't completely lying. He had met her on the bus, but had only gotten her name; he still didn't know that much about her, other then the fact that almost everything she did was somehow attractive.

"I know, but you don't think that you'd like to get to know her?"

"Why are we talking about Dani again?"

"Well, it just seems that you like her, and she just might feel the same." He was trying to get the point across to Adam, without really saying what he had seen Dani do.

"What?"

"Are you blind or something?" He sighed as Adam looked evermore confused, "Okay, let me ask you this; have you ever had a girlfriend before?"

"No."

Scooter's eyes grew to the size of saucers, "Okay. Have you at least kissed a girl before? I really don't care if it was a bet, spin the bottle, or pretending to marry a girl in kindergarten; have you kissed a girl before, not a relative." Adam sunk into his chair, but Scooter got the message. "Oh my god," He whispered to himself as he clasped his hand on the top of his head, "I have a lot of work to do on you."

"What?" Scooter had been whispering, but Adam had heard him.

"Nothing, now out." He was now parked in front of Adam's house.

"Thanks Scooter, but what are you talking about?" Scooter just shook off his comment and drove away; leaving Adam to contemplate what Scooter was thinking, and how it was going to affect his relationship with Dani.

(-------)

Adam had walked into his house and greeted his parents before rushing up to his room to call Charlie, Terry, and Jesse on his private phone line. First he called up Charlie, "Hello."

"Hi, Mrs. Conway. Is Charlie there?"

"One second Adam. Charlie, phone for you!"

The phone was handed over, "Hello?"

"Hey Charlie, it's me. Hold on for a second, okay."

"Three-way with Terry and Jesse?" Charlie asked, knowing that Adam had three way calling on his private phone.

"Yeah." Then he called up Terry and Jesse. Terry picked up and had Jesse join him over the speaker phone. "How was your first week of school, guys." He asked, trying to keep everyone's attention off of him.

"It was school cake-eater, what do you think?" Jesse retorted, "What about prep school?"

Both Charlie and Adam gave groans and said, "About the same."

Then Charlie remembered, "But, our Coach got the Dean to let the U.S Olympic Women's Figure Skating Team stay at the school until the Olympics are over." Terry and Jesse both said 'that's cool' and Charlie went on, "If you can believe this, Tammy Duncan is a member, she actually made it."

"I knew she would do that someday." Jesse said.

"Tommy is with her, but one of the othergirls is our age, and really cute."

Adam laughed, "You have a girlfriend; besides, you don't remember her, do you?"

"What do you mean?" All three of his friends asked.

"She was the girl on the bus, you idiot." He couldn't believe Charlie hadn't recognized Dani that morning.

"Oh yeah. And you said you would never see her again." Charlie joked to take the blunder off of himself, Adam rolled his eyes. The conversation with is friends, then consisted of if he was going to ask Dani out or not, "Yeah, that's really going to happen."

"Why wouldn't it?" Charlie, Terry, and Jesse asked simultaneously.

"If you forgot, Charlie, she's Portman's twin sister!" He ran his hand threw his hair, "The relationship would be flawed by my sudden, but inevitable, death."

"Why would you be killed?" Terry asked.

"Because, it's obvious that Portman is overprotective of her. If I tried to get within ten feet of her, he'd probably be on me like a pack of starving wolves." Then he heard his mother yell from the bottom of the stair to get off the phone, "I have to go guys, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye." Came from all three and Adam hung up. Then his thoughts drifted to Dani; she was pretty, smart, witty, and Scooter hinted she was interested in him. But, honestly, what did Scooter know? How could he have a bit of information like that, and nobody else know? Even if he did, Dean was another problem. The thought of being ripped limb from limb was painful. Every thought that occupied his head stayed their and pushed their way into his dream. He had a rough night.


	5. Interlude: Randomness!

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**PrincessH-** I am more then happy that you enjoyed my last chapter. I try to update as much as possible, but I might not be able to as much as a normally might. My week's are going to get hectic soon, but I will try to update a frequently as possible.

**hockey-girl90-**Glad you like. I hope you find the rest as enjoyable.

**ZELINIA-** Violence is always good for entertainment, but I have never understood why. Oh well. I found out my little antics mistake _after_ I had saved the latest chapter on the Internet (that's what I get for updating at three in the morning after being in the sun all day while wearing a polyester band uniform, they are EVIL!). But thank you for correcting me.

**pipsqweek91-** You really like the way I write Scooter? COOL! Anyway, I think because Portman is a fictional character, it might be hard for you to marry him; but try if you must! I noticed my lack of phrasing creativity, but I was updating at three in the morning and I was tired, so I didn't bother to fix it. Better creativity to come, I promise.

**Delibertlee-** Ecstatic you loved. Please read and enjoy at your own free will (isn't free will great?). Anywho, I hope you like.

**firexelement-** NEW REVIEWER! AWSOME! Thanks for the review, I am glad you like what I have written so far.

(-------)

Dani was sitting on her bed in the dorm room she was sharing with Gia and Tammy; her mother had gotten her own room, and Coach Orion and Tommy shared a room. She was thinking very intently about Adam; he was really cute and he seemed nice, but if anything ever happened Dean would soon become Superman and come to her rescue, weather she wanted it or not.

After about ten minutes she was pulled from her thoughts by her two figure skating pals, "So, what is occupying your mind so much that you can't pay attention to a rant about the screwed up government?" Gia was waving one of her dark hands in front of Dani's face.

"Nothing." She replied feebly and without any conviction.

Tammy gave out a tiny gasp, "Dani has a crush on somebody!" She squealed; she looked rather pleased with herself. _'Am I that transperant?' _Dani asked herself while trying to look completely indifferent.

"What gives you that idea?" She asked somewhat coolly. Tammy said that it was completely obvious, "Says the girl who was macking on a guy she knew in the sixth grade, had a crush on, and hasn't seen in about four years." Tammy gave her a scandalized look.

"Okay, now I _KNOW_ something is going on." Gia exclaimed, "Who is he? Is he cute? Does he have a brother?"

Dani giggled; there was no use in denying it, they were going to find out eventually, so it was better they hear it from her then from someone else, "Okay, you caught me. I don't know if he has a brother, but he is probably about a 12 on a 1 to 10 hotness scale." Gia circled her hands, asking for more information, "Okay, your promise you won't tell anyone; especially not Dean?" They nodded their heads, a little too eager, "Adam Banks." Her statement was met with way-too-excited squeals and she buried her head in her pillow.

Tammy spoke up, "I knew him before and, trust me, he is a great guy. Sweet, caring, chivalrous, pretty much the works."

Dani scowled, lifting her head from her pillow, "Thank you for telling me that. Now I have another reason to hate you at the moment." She pouted as she layed her head back down.

"Why do you hate me for saying that?" Tammy asked, rather bemused.

"Because, now he seems more perfect then he did before. I have no chance with him. Even if I did, Dean would absolutely FLIP if he ever found out. This would cause him to rip Adam apart and them call up my other brothers to clean up the leftovers. Did I ever mention how protective my brothers can get?" Gia and Tammy nodded. Dani looked at the clock; it read 11:45 pm. "We had better get to bed." The other agreed and they got into their beds. Before Gia turned off the light, Dani looked out the window and got a strange feeling, one that she had never felt before.

The light flickered off and everything and everyone in the room was enveloped in darkness. Gia and Tammy shuffled in their beds while saying their last good nights, which Dani replied to. She turned over and pulled the covers up to her neck, while burying her head even farther into her pillow. Despite everything she did, she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

(--------)

The next day Adam was awaken by his alarm at his customary 9:30 AM. The previous Thursday, everyone had agreed to meet at the deli that Goldberg's parents owned at noon; one little problem, it was raining and he didn't have a ride as both of his parents where at work. This meant walking or taking a bus, neither of which he wanted to do. After about 15 minutes of thinking over his little problem, he decided on the bus.

It took him about 30 minutes to get to the deli, but he had made it there, even if he was rather wet. "What happened to you?" Charlie joked.

"What do you think?" He snapped back. Charlie just put up his hands in surrender and mumbled an apology. Everyone was there, including Terry and Jesse. They greeted each other and tried to come up with something to do, this ended in argument. Half of them wanted to go to the movies, some of them wanted to go to the arcade, the rest wanted to go to the Mall of America and just lounge around.

"You do know that you can do _all _of that stuff at the Mall of America, right?" A voice asked, startling them all. They looked around and saw Dani, Gia, and Tammy standing by the door, it was Tammy that had spoken, "Hi Mr. And Mrs. Goldberg." She smiled sweetly.

"Tammy! Well, we haven't seen you in a while." Mrs. Goldberg exclaimed. Tammy told her where she had been and then directed herself to the group in front of her.

"But like I was saying, you can do everything at the Mall of America. So just go there and figure out what you want to do then, it worked for us." She pointed at herself, Dani, and Gia. Everyone nodded in agreement.

All in all, Dani was amused at the fact that they had to have Tammy's intervention to help them figure out something to do. She had to laugh at the way they took this information when she told them, it was like someone had scrunched up their face muscles and left them that way. But then her phone rang and that broke the mood of humor that had enveloped the deli. "Yellow!" She answered.

"IF you three think I am going to sit here all day and wait for you, then you all have serious issues!" It was _her_ Coach Orion.

"Actually Coach, I do have issues; four of them. They're called brothers. " She smiled as Dean threw a can of Pringles at her head, and she caught it, causing him to wallowed in disappointment. She listened to his rant about how they would be doing Lutzes, Axles, and Loops until their legs fell off if they where late. "Yes Coach. Bye." She turned to her teammates, "Coach says we gotta go. If not our legs will fall off."

"HUH?" Averman, typical.

"He says that when he is mad. It means we will be doing a lot at practice tonight." Then she looked at the Pringles can, "Man, I have been craving these things all week." Then she looked at the price, "$1.10! You can't get these for less then $2.00 back home." She rushed up to the counter and bought the Pringles, "See you later, my issue!" She called as she ran to her Coaches car, followed closely by Gia and Tammy.

Adam found it intensely funny that Dani found ways under Dean's skin they way she did. He hadn't met a person like that; well, he had, but Dean had completely decapitated them; he seemed reluctant to to that kind of thing to Dani. He felt his attraction to her build as the day went on; throughout the movie, arcade games, and random window shopping (or, in Julie's and Connie's cases, actual shopping) she was always on his mind. He noticed a voice in his head that said _'At least talk to her. Listen to Scooter!'. _

The sad thing about his weekend was he didn't know that Dani's head was preoccupied by thoughts rather similar to his own. Funny how things work out like that, isn't it?

(-------)

**I know, short and not my best. I am trying to break threw a bout of the evilness that is writer's block. I hope you all forgive and bare with me, I really do want to know what you think. I hope you keep reading! **


	6. New Arrival

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

I HAST ARRIVED, AGAIN!

**PrincessH-** Writer's block is a very unnecessary evil, but I got through it! I truly hope you enjoy my next installment.

**ZELINIA-** Yes, polyester, but I'll survive. I enjoy many conversations of randomness with my own huddle of amigos, so I get A LOT of inspiration form them. I try to work in what I call the "cutie factor", so I am glad it worked. It's nice to know that my characters, and the past characters, are liked.

**firexelement-** I am more then ecstatic that you enjoyed my last chapter, considering I wasn't really inspired at that point. I hope this chapter is enjoyed as much.

**pipsqweek91-** Aww, you like the relationship (if you could call it that) between Adam and Dani, YEA. Thank you for complimenting my writing of sibling rivalry, I do try. Boys are evil. WOOT (I love that word)!

**mickEmousina-** I have broken my writer's block, I hope you have as well. I might have to try that "Rent" soundtrack thing next time (can't wait to see that movie). I don't think you are weird, but if you insist. Like I said before, Julie/Portman might end up somewhere.

**Wise Old Owl-** Thank you, I am happy that you find this story enjoyable.

(-------)

Oh joy! Dean was in his first class of Monday morning, and it was Geometry. Not only was it hard to concentrate on school on a Monday morning, but it was a math class, Dean's least favorite kind. The only upside to this class was that he had it with Fulton, so they could ignore their teacher, Mr. Etherton, together. The sound of Mr. Etherton's faux British accent talking about theorems and postulates and proofs that made no sense lulled Dean into a catatonic state that rarely could be broken. But little did Dean know that at the very moment that he was falling asleep in Geometry, Dean Buckley was walking an transfer student down the hall to his class; a transfer student whom hadn't seen Dean in a long time.

_Knock, knock, knock._ "Come in." Mr. Etherton's pompous fake British accent muttered. Dean Buckley opened the door and looked in the classroom, not fully obstructing a tall boy wearing all black and green, sunglasses, and a green and white bandana who was behind him from view.

"Hello, Mr. Etherton." Dean Buckley looked anxious to get away from the room. As everybody knew that Mr. Etherton thought the Mathematics department at Eden Hall was being neglected, they all knew why "I have a new student who will be joining your class today." He beckoned the boy to the doorway, "Everyone, this is Maxim Newmen, he has just transferred from Paris, France."

"It's just 'Max'." the boy said in a deep, mature, slightly apathetic voice. He blew a large bubble of gum and it popped, greatly irritating Mr. Etherton.

"Well, 'Just Max'," Mr. Etherton taunted as Dean Buckley closed the door and left and Max sat down two rows behind Dean, "I'll have you know that my rules are that no sunglasses are to be warn in this class." Max scoffed and removed his sunglasses, reviling fierce green eyes, "Nor are bandanas; that goes for you two as well." He added in Dean and Fulton's direction. Dean and Fulton took off their bandanas and watched Max remove his; he had a head of short, thick, wavy blond hair. "No gum either."

Max widened his eyes and took out his gum while he muttered to himself, "_È questo un la scuola o una prigione?"_ **(Italian: Is this a school or a prison?**). Dean tried to stifle a laugh while the rest of the class looked confused.

"Is something funny, Mr. Portman?" Mr. Etherton said in a stern voice, the vein in his temple was growing and his face was turning a very bright red.

"No, sir." Dean lied. As Mr. Etherton turned away, Dean looked around and whispered, "_Entrambi!_" **(Italian:** **Both!)**, Max had to stifle his laughter and Fulton hit Dean on the shoulder and gave him a confused look, Dean mouthed, 'I'll tell you later'.

"Gentlemen, if you don't mind, I would like to get on with class." Mr. Etherton said as he sat back down at the overhead projector. "Now as I saying…." He trailed off when he noticed that classes attention was on someone else but him, something he loathed. "So, Mr. Newmen, tell us about yourself." His voice was strained and an evil, insincere smile was crossing his face.

Max sighed, as if he was asked this all the time, "I was born in Reno, Nevada. My dad is in the Army, so I have lived in America, Romania, France, England, Italy, Spain, Mexico, and briefly in Germany and Japan. So I probably know all the languages that are offered here. Other then that, my life isn't that exciting."

"Lovely." Mr. Etherton seethed and looked around, "Alright everyone, POP QUIZ!" The class groaned as Mr. Etherton wrote the problems on the overhead projector.

Dean was horrified. He was really bad at math, it was a subject he never understood, and Geometry was the worst. He looked down at his paper and then to the overhead projector. He sighed and looked around the class, all of them looked scared, but they had started. As he looked back down at his paper he felt something hit his head, roll on his shoulder and then watched it fall onto his desk, it was a paper wad. Dean took it and opened the crumpled ball as quietly as he could.

**DEAN**

**THINK HOCKEY!**

By the way, I heard Dani made it to the Olympics

'Bout time if you ask me,

Our little girl is growing up so fast!

I'd like to talk to her again, mind helping me with that?

How was your summer?

Did you have to stick with your parental units?

Or was it more Alec and Cami make-out sessions?

**MAX!**

Dean smiled to himself, Max was right; there was Geometry in hockey. He and Dani had met Max two years ago when he and Cami and their parents had moved to Chicago; Dani then introduced Cami to Alec and the rest was history.

(-----)

With Max's advice, Dean was sure he had avoided failing his quiz, but he wasn't sure by how much. When the bell rang, Max rushed out of the class before Dean could have a chance to talk to him. Dean was upset to find out that he and Max didn't have any other classes together, nor did they see each other in the halls or at lunch.

But the day went on and Dean couldn't rest on the subject, because he had hockey practice. When he got the locker room, Fulton tried to get Dean to tell him about earlier that day, but Dean waved him off and said it was nothing.

When the team got to rink, their Coach wasn't there; as this had only happened once, the whole team was somewhat confused. Charlie suggested that the team warm-up and everyone else obliged.

(------)

Everyone had been horsing around for about 15 minutes when they heard the all too familiar whistle; everyone went down on one knee and took off their masks as their coach approached them.

"Alright team, I have some news for you. Today we are getting a new player." Dean laughed to himself and muttered 'Max', "From what I hear, he's pretty good. So everyone, make him feel welcome."

The new player was skating up the group. He stopped right next to Coach Orion and right in front of Dean, sending a wave of shaved ice on to Dean's face. The team looked very shocked and ready for a fight to commence, but Dean merely stood up, wiped off his face, and sarcastically said, "_Grazie. Ho avuto bisogno di un acquazzone freddo!_" **(Italian: Thanks. I needed a cold shower!).**

The player took off his helmet and laughed, "_Perchè quello non lo sorprese?_" **(Italian: Why does that not surprise me?).**

"You're an idiot, Newmen." Dean said shaking his head.

"Or is that just you?" Max said with a half grin creeping up is face.

"Can someone tell me what is going on?" Coach Orion asked with his brow furrowed. He looked to Dean, then Max, back to Dean, and then back to Max.

"Ditto!" cried half the team, including Fulton.

Dean laughed a little and said, "Everyone, this is Max. Max this is everyone. I knew Max in Chicago."

"Wouldn't giving me names be a bit of a necessity?" Max asked. Dean sighed and told him everybody's names, and then said, "Call them what you will."

"PORTMAN!" Everyone yelled.

"I have an idea, let's wait for the idiot of the world to leave, and then you can tell me what you want to be called."

(------)

The practice went well after that. Max showed off a few impressive moves and he worked well with the rest of the team. When they walked into the Ducks started to ask him a lot of questions.

"So Max," Connie asked, "How did you get here?"

Max was taking off pads when he answered, "My dad is in the Army, and he got transferred again. He said something like 'It's a very prodigious place, so you have to go there. And don't even think about getting in trouble, I don't like the influence those **_Portman's_** had on you.'" Max said in a high mocking voice. "I only came so that I could get away from him and my annoying stepmom."

"Your dad still hates us then?" Dean asked with a grin growing steadily on his face.

"Oh yeah." Max's green eyes light up, "At one point, I hinted that Alec and Cami were getting married."

The water Dean had been drinking sprayed out of his mouth, "Are you serious!" He was clutching his stomach and laughing almost uncontrollably. "I'm sure your dad loved that!"

"I think he was close to having an aneurysm, but it was pretty funny."

"Um, Alec and Cami?" Fulton asked.

"My older brother, Alec." Dean said

"My older sister Camilla, we call her 'Cami', they've been dating for a while." Max concluded.

(-----)

As the Ducks were leaving, they met up with their coach. As they walked out of the building they heard a small voice yell, "Hi, daddy!" and Coach Orion turned around, causing everyone to turn. A small girl in a wheelchair was coming up to the group.

"Becky, what are you doing here."

"I wanted to see Uncle Eric, so he came and got me from my Physical Therapy at the hospital. I like his team, they're nice." Becky smiled and flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

"Oh on," Dean groaned, "Dani has already gotten to her." He slapped his hand to his forehead.

"I heard that!" A voice screamed from across the room, and Dani came walking up to the group with her arms crossed across her chest. "Hi again, Becky."

"Hi again!"

Dani looked at Becky's face, she was looking somewhat sad and upset, "Becky?"

"Huh?"

"What did I tell you?" Dani had an eyebrow raised.

"Doctor's are humans and they make mistakes." Becky said, looking slightly happier.

"I don't think I put it that nicely, but essentially yes." Dani said looking down and tapped her right index finger to her forehead and over her heart. "By the way." Dani said changing the subject and looking at Dean, "Mom is still looking for you."

Dean sighed heavily, "Your mom is here?" Max asked, stunned.

"NEWMEN!" Dani asked, just realizing he was in the room, "What are you doing here?"

"Schooling." Max said simply.

Dani tried to say something, but she couldn't, she was actually speechless.  
"I think that desperate is a good word here! It's just coffee, chill out!" Someone yelled from outside the door. Then a woman walked in the room, running her hand through her dark hair, "I swear, that man has never been on a date in his life."

"Coach?" Dani said looking at the door, "Probably not."

"Hi mom!" Max slipped in professionally.

"Max! What are you doing here?"

"Schooling."

"Very vague, isn't he." Dani whispered to her mother.

"She's my mom!" Dean scowled and the two proceeded to hit the other on the shoulder has hard as possible.

"Morons!" Dani groaned as she ran her hands through her hair. Just then Tammy and Gia walked in the room, "Is he gone yet."

"Yes." Tammy sighed as she sat down and rubbed her neck.

"It's about time," Becky spoke up, "He wouldn't have made, and first impressions are always important."

Dani looked down at her again, and raised her eyebrow, "Are you sure that you are ten?"

"Yep." Becky said and nodded in a matter-of-fact way (FYI, I don't remember if they said how old she was, so I am making her ten). "I know a lot. I read."

"That's good. Maybe if my brother did the same, he'd actually know something." Everyone on the team stifled laughter, "I guess we will never know." Dean looked ready to murder, and their mother gave her that look that all parents give when they don't like what their kids have said.

"Guys," Gia spoke up, "We need to get going. Coach said we are going to have to wake up early tomorrow morning."

"Fine." Dani sighed, "Bye Mom. See ya later, Becky. Bye all." She waved to the group and hugged Max goodbye, "Good to see you again, Newmen." They each gave the other a small peck on the cheek and Max could have sworn he saw Adams eyes look away.


	7. Good Times

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

I would like to thank all of my reviewers and those who put up with my minimal updating over the past few months. I should be getting my own computer back soon, so I can update more without having to worry about spending to much time on my good friend, Artamis' (if this confuses any one, that's how he spells it!) computer. LOVE YOU ARTI!

**PrincessH-** Thank you for the review. I hope you like this installment as much as you liked the last one.

**ZELINIA-** I'm glad you like Max. He's a mix of some of my good friends, expect none of them can speak Italian, I just decided to add that in there. Thank you for the compliments on the translations, I used an Italian/Spanish/English dictionary, I like your way better!

**pipsqweek91-** It's nice to know that my OC's are liked! Thank you, I tried to make him cool! Yes, Portman speaks Italian. You should figure out how and why very soon, is that okay?

**hockey-girl90-** Glad you like. Hopefully, you like the rest as much or more!

**Chalania-** New reviewer! COOL! I am ecstatic that you like my story so far. Glad you think that I am doing a great job. I hope I will continue to do so!

(------)

"Portman has the greatest family in the world." Max was getting all of his homework out of his locker. I was Wednesday and all of the classes for the day had ended. The Ducks had congregated around his locker. They, in someway, had started talking about their families.

"You only say that because your family is psychotic!" Dean added as he took his bag off the floor and slung it over his shoulder. He was right, Max's family could get a little out of control, but Max wasn't going to admit that. He just shook his head and slammed his locker closed.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't the Geese!" The team turned around, and there was the remaining Varsity. Cole, their resident baboon, was the one who had spoken. "We hear that you rejects have a new player. Was he too embarrassed to be part of your team to show?" The team guffawed and snickered.

"Actually, I'm right here." Max said, wondering if this idiot was in some way blind. Being the gentlemen that he was, Max out stretched his hand and introduced himself, "Max. Max Newmen." Cole merely sneered at Max's hand, "Or not." Max mumbled to himself.

Scooter had arrived behind and pushed himself to the front, beside Cole. He reached out and grabbed Max's semi-out stretched hand, "Scott Vanderbilt. Call me Scooter."

"Pleasure." Max said.

"And this lovely young _lady_ is Biff Cole. The group that stands before you is the… Never mind." Scooter cut off. He had his arm around Cole's shoulders and looked incredibly happy, everyone else looked bitter and angry.

"Get off me goalie. Let's go." Cole said threateningly. His face was contorted in rage as Scooter slid his arm off of Cole's shoulder. The Varsity stormed away past Dean Buckley's office and shot it a glowering look as they past the door.

"Well," Max began, once the Varsity were out of earshot, "Aren't they a pleasant bunch?"

"They have a lot on their minds. This week hasn't been a very good week for them." Scooter said with a grin threatening to break out on his face, he was almost laughing.

"Why?" Julie asked. The whole of the team looked ready to know what had irked the Varsity so badly.

Scooter was about to begin when a bouncy figure came up behind him; "I want to tell them." Dani was looking up at Scooter with an excited look in her eye. She was wearing a finger less black glove that went up to her elbow, a black and white bandana on her head, a tank top shirt that said "I heart Angel & Collins" (there were two faces inside the heart) with a small 'Rent' logo at the bottom, a pair of blue jeans, and flip flops.

"You can if you answer me one question." Dani nodded, "Who was that very tall, rather intimidating person I saw you talking to about ten minutes ago?" He seemed to be genuinely interested, and a little scared.

"Ten minutes ago? Oh, that was my daddy." She said, thoroughly enjoying the shock on Dean and Scooter's faces.

"That was you dad?" Scooter asked. Dani nodded, "Well, I certainly feel bad for anyone that you end up dating." He had placed his hand on Dani's shoulder.

"That was only my dad. They would have to worry about my brothers, too." She said as she took Scooter's hand off of her shoulder.

"Bothers?" Adam chimed in, "As in plural?"

"Four, five of us in all. I'm the only girl." She said as she held up four of the fingers on her gloved hand, as she always did when asked about how many siblings she had. "And they are all like him." She added, pointing to Dean.

"Why is dad here?" Dean asked.

"School doesn't start in Chicago until next week on Wednesday, so he doesn't have to be there until Monday. He came down for our birthday." Dani looked at Dean's worried expression; "Chill, the tall and annoying one is currently schooling, and the small and annoying ones are with grandpa."

"Oh, good. So what where you going to tell us?"

"Well," Dani began, but she was cut off by Dean's coach walking through the door, "Oh good, you need to know this too. Well, it seems that Coach Wilson was caught with steroids, and he is suspected with using them, so he got fired. Which means you," She pointed to the team, "are the new Varsity, and you," she pointed to Coach Orion, "are the new Varsity coach." Surprisingly, everyone was to shocked to say anything.

"None of the old Varsity are going to be joining you, so you won't have to worry about anything." Scooter added. Everyone looked at him with a surprised glare, "I figured, you already have two goalies. I'm sitting this year out."

"And I have to go, so bye." Dani said, pulling a dum-dum out of her pocket and plopping it in her mouth, then she crumpled the wrapper and threw it away. The whole team got over their shock and screamed.

(-----)

"Well, it's my first year here, and I'm on the Varsity team. This is awesome." Max exclaimed as everyone set off towards their new 3:45 to 5:45 practice.

"I see you have already heard the good news." Dean Buckley said from behind them, "I'm guessing I have a mouthy ex-Varsity player." He added as he walked up to them. The Ducks merely shrugged and smiled, "Congratulations, anyway." He said, walking past them.

**_CRASH!_** "Shit!" Max exclaimed. Everyone looked down and saw that all of Max's homework, books, and anything else that was in his bag fell out, as the bag had ripped. "You guys go on. I'll be there in a second." With protests, they finally left and Max started to pick up his things.

"I can't believe they aren't letting the Drama department show RENT as our big production this year!" someone exclaimed from in front of him. "We have the resources to make a fantastic show!"

Max looked up and saw a girl with short, dark red hair. She was speaking to another girl with long brown hair and bright pink streaks. He had to laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" The girl with brown and pink hair asked in a pushy, I-hate-everyone voice.

"Nothing." Max said as he stood up, "It's just that this school is run by middle aged, white yuppies. They would think that RENT would be to offensive for the majority of the school population. Personally I like RENT."

"You actually know what it is?" The red head asked, surprised.

"Yes, not all jocks are morons." Max told them, "Excuse me, I have to get to practice." He passed them and muttered 'nice talking to you'. As he walked away, Max could have sworn he heard one of the girl's let out a gasp and a whispered 'Oh my GOD'.

(----)

"Newmen," Dean said as Max entered the locker room, "what took you so long?"

Max laughed and threw his stuff into his locker, "Nothing. Although I have a feeling I might be in with a couple of the girls from the drama department." He finished and began to change.

"What makes you think that?" Fulton asked.

"I ran into some of them outside, and they seemed rather surprised that I knew what RENT was, and that I actually liked it."

Dean laughed, "La Vie Boheme!"

"_Diritto Maledetto_!" Max said as he gave Dean a high-five. **(Italian: Damn straight!) **

"That's another thing," Fulton said, "What the hell are you saying?" He was looking from one to the other, "And in what language?" The rest of the team started looking from one to the other.

"It's Italian." Dean said.

"You know how to speak Italian?" Connie asked, with a perplexed and bewildered look on her face. "How do you know how to speak Italian?"

"Because my mom _is _Italian. She was born in Italy, and came over with my grandfather and uncles when she was a year old." Dean told them, as he went back to changing.

"I've lived everywhere." Max said, holding up his hands in a surrendering motion. "_No debemos hablar quizá en italiano más_." Max said, leaning over and speaking to Dean. **(Spanish: Maybe we shouldn't speak in Italian anymore.) **

"_Sí, quizá." _Dean sighed. **(Spanish: Yeah, maybe.)**

"How do you know **_SPANISH_**!" Luis spat out.

"_¡Porque mi papá es medio cubano!" _Dean yelled out. Then he took a few seconds to calm himself down, "Because my dad is half Cuban." He translated so that everyone knew what he was saying, "Anything else you want to know?" Everyone shook their heads, "Great."

(-----)

Dani was walking down the hall to the main entrance of the Ice Rink. She looked down the stairs and saw her parents talking to three other adults. "Mom? Dad?"

"Dani, come here." Her father beckoned. She walked down the stairs and gave her father a hug. He kissed her cheek and she squirmed away, "What?" He asked in an exasperated voice.

"You haven't shaved today. It feels weird." Her father looked up at the ceiling. Her mother gave him a look that said 'I told you so'. Then Dani's attention went back to the three other adults around them, "From what I can tell, you are Adam's parents," She said to the working, yuppie-ish couple, "and you're Charlie's mom." She told the other woman.

"How did you know that?" Adam's mother asked her.

"Female intuition." Dani answered, with a twinkle in her eye.

"Speaking of our sons," Charlie's mom started, checking her watch "where are they?"

"Practice." Dani said.

"It's only 5:40."

"Exactly."

"But that's the Varsity practice time." Adam's dad said.

"Yup, they should be getting out in about five minutes."

"Honey," Dani looked up at her mother, "do you know something we don't? And shouldn't you be in class yourself"

"I could have a thousand answers to thatfirst question, but if want the answer to the specific question you have, ask him." Dani finished, pointing to Dean Buckley, who was walking toward them. "And as for your other my schooling, Ms. Sims is sick, so she let us out a few minutes early."

"I see you have heard the good news." Dean Buckley said looking down at her. She shook her head 'yes'.

"But we haven't!"

"Dad, chill!"

"Well, it seems our former Varsity coach, Coach Wilson, had, how do I put this delicately, trouble." Dani muttered 'understatement of the century', "So we had to let him go. That makes your children the new Varsity."

"Please don't scream!" Dani said quickly to avoid any loud, over-excited parents.

Dean Buckley said good-bye and left. The adults were going to resume their conversation when they heard a loud voice say, "This coming from the guy who walked around his house in nothing but his briefs, while his sisters best friends were in the vicinity! One of whom is my sister, and another who just happens to be a very gay young man!" Dean and Max had come through one of the doors that lead to the rink.

"I don't wear…."

"Yes you do." Dani cut in, "Remember Dean, Gazelle through the Meadow." Dani was thoroughly enjoying the lovely shade of red that Dean was turning.

"Care on clueing anyone else in?" Julie asked.

"I'll tell you later."

"Don't even think about it!" Dean snapped.

"What a snappy retort."

"_Per favore, non inizi nulla ora!" _Their mother said as she put a hand on one of their shoulders. **(Italian: Please, don't start anything right now!)**

"_Ascolti la vostra madre." _Their father agreed. **(Italian: Listen to your mother.)**

"_Spiacente."_They replied**(Italian: Sorry.) **

"Well, now that that is over, Mom, Dad what are you doing here?" Adam chimed in, clearly trying to _not _look at Dean, because of the comment that Max had said, and Dani, because of reasons obvious to everyone but Dean (Fulton was trying to ignore Adam's attraction to Dani, out of loyalty to Dean, and didn't say anything).

"Well," His mother started, "We have to go out of town and we won't be back until next week."

"Cool, then I get the house to myself!" Adam said, his eyes lighting up.

"No." His father cut in.

"That's why I'm here." Charlie's mother broke in.

"Casey has been nice enough to take you in for the weekend. Try not go get into any trouble."

"I'm not the heart attack child, remember?"

"Why not?" Dani asked, "Giving your parents heart attacks is fun." Adam gave her a strange look, "Last year, on the last day of school, I went on the roof and walked around the boarder. I don't know why, I just felt like it."

"I remember that!" Dean exclaimed, "You two were green for a week!" He added in his parent's direction.

"Well, we have to go of we will miss our train." Adam's father said.

"Okay, bye." Adam said quickly as his mother swooped down and gave in a kiss on the cheek.

A collective 'AWWWWW' came from the team, Dean and Fulton most prominent amoung them. Adam wiped off his cheek with a sour glare to his teammates.

The door slammed open and Tammy gave through. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Banks, Mrs. Conway."

"Tammy, it's good to see you." Mrs. Banks replied, "Didn't you use to be blond?"

"It changed to red." Tammy said.

"Now we look so much alike!" Tommy said, grabbing his sister around the waist as her eye started to twitch.

"I'm dying back, now." She said as she got away form her brother's grip, and looking as though she was about to convulse.

"I think is looks nice." Fulton dropped casually.

At this, Dani quickly reached into her pocket and pulled out a stick of gum and shoved into her mouth, thinking _'I could say so much right now, but I'm a good person, so I won't!' _Adam took notice and at super speed put two and two together; "I KNEW IT!" He screamed, and covered his mouth.

"Aren't you Mr. Subtle!" Dani exclaimed.

"Well, whatever you are talking about, we still have to go." Adam's mother added. "It was a pleasure meeting you." She told Dean parents, shaking their hands. His father followed suite and they left.

"And I have to get back to work." Mrs. Conway said hugging Charlie good-bye. "I'll see you two this weekend."

"Well, this was different." Dean said, "I have homework to get to, so Mom, Dad, bye."

"Ditto." Dani exclaimed.

"Bye Mom! Bye Dad!" Max said.

(------)

"Okay, one question." Goldberg said to Max as he passed an apple from one hand to the other. "Why do you call Portman's parents 'mom and dad'?" The team, Dani, and Tammy were sitting in the room that the Figure Skating team used as a classroom, some of them, like Max, were finishing homework, while the others were either finished of procrastinating.

"Because they are the closed thing to parents I have actually had." He told them as he finished his paper for English and stowed it in his bag.

"Care to elaborate?" Averman asked, bobbing his head as he asked the question, and stared at Max.

"My dad is in the Army and doesn't have any interest in anything that isn't absolutely perfect, and I'm not. My stepmom only has interest in my dad."

"What about your mom?" Russ asked. This question set off a long silence that was broken only by Dean dropping his pencil and sighing hard. He and Dani had heard the story of Max's mom, and knew that he didn't like telling it.

"She died when I was three." Max finally told them, "All I know is what my sister has told me. And, honestly, I really don't want to talk about it."

"WHAAA!" Dani screamed.

"Are you being attacked?" Dean asked, trying to hold in laughter.

"No, I was sitting on my phone, and it was on silent." She shot back as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. "WELL! Damn!" she said looking at the screen. Tammy looked over and her eyes got wide too.

Then the phone beeped and a voice came from the speaker, "Don't even think about it, he's mine."

She pushed a button on the side of the phone and talked into the walkie-talkie speaker, "I figured, Doe. Besides, I'm in Minnesota. There are plenty of uncharted waters for me to explore." Dean broke his pencil.

"Dean is in the room, isn't he?"

"Yeah. Look, Doe, I have to go, my mom will kill me if I go over on my minutes again."

"Good-bye my muse!" The person known as 'Doe' screamed into the phone, "By the way, Wilson is completely miserable."

"He better be!" Dani said in a spiteful voice. "I have to go."

"BYE!"

"What the hell was that?" Fulton asked when Dani had put her phone back into her pocket.

"That was Doe, he is a good friend of mine." Dani told him.

"Doe?"

"It's his nickname.  
"

"Muse?"

"He is big into designing and I'm his muse. I don't know why, considering there are plenty of other people who are a lot better at being muses."

"Maybe he is inspired by your I-don't-care-want-anyone-thinks-about-me attitude." Adam blurted out before he could stop himself. He mentally kicked himself, and felt that Dean was going to kill him very soon.

"Aren't you just sweet and corn-fed and truthful like that." Dani said. Then she looked at the clock on the wall, "Um, Dean?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't your dorm lock up at 9:00?"

"Yeah."

"Then you had better start moving your ass now. Because it's 8:51." She said as she pointed up to the clock.

There was a bustle of noise as everyone rushed out of the room, or grabbed up their things. Dani and Tammy were the last to leave. They locked the door and walked to their room talking about the difference between a stalactite and stalagmite. (BTW: If that confused anyone, sorry. I just needed a little bit of random at the end!)


	8. Oh, Boy!

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(----)

**firexelement-** I am ecstatic that you think that the last chapter was funny. Yes, Adam is falling pretty hard; I tried to make it interesting, I am happy you thought it was funny. Thanks for reviewing!

**pipsqweek91-** Randomness is always fun, that's why I needed to have some at the end of my last chapter. It's true, Adams mouth is getting away from him, it will happen later as well. Glad you like!

**mickEmousina-** Hero? Me? Really? COOL! I don't think anyone has told me that before, but I don't mind. I agree that RENT (the movie) rocked; but, as you said, things are rarely better then the original (be it a movie, book, play, etc). The characters are starting to be like friends of your's? I tried to stay as true to the movies for the characters that were already there, but the OC's are based off of a person or people I know. What a coincidence.

**BrokenAngel1753-** Happily, I haven't stopped this story. It's nice to know that you want to read more of it. I hope you enjoy the rest of this story.

(-----)

Fulton was up at 6:00 in the morning on Friday, but he wasn't sure why. He had been up since about 5:45 and he couldn't get back to sleep; Dean's snoring, which normally never bothered him, wasn't helping either. He figured that he might as well get dressed, because there was no way he was getting back to sleep.

After Fulton was fully dressed there was a knock on the door. "Who the hell is up at this time on a Friday. And why are they knocking on someones door?" He mumbled to himself, rather disgruntled. He walked over to the door, yawning, and opened it, "Dani? What are you doing here?"

"Hi Fulton." Dani replied. "Dean's not up yet, is he?" She asked, then she answered her own question, "Oh, of course he isn't. He's never up this early. Can I come in?"

"Uh, why?" Fulton asked, perplexed.

"Family tradition." Dani replied, simply.

"Okay." Fulton said, confused, "How did you even know where our room was?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Tammy told me."

"Oh." Now Fulton was _really _embarrassed. He was, very quickly, turning a bright shade of red.

"No!" Dani said, "I am not a dirty minded person. I do not think about things of that nature! Chill!" She had a very incredulous look on her face. "Honestly man. I don't even want to think about that."

"What exactly did Tammy tell you?" He asked, now very pale.

"She told me that you had gotten your mother a necklace for a 'graduation' of sorts, and that you asked her if she thought your mom would like it." Dani said.

"Oh, okay." he said as he moved over to let her in the room.

Fulton hadn't noticed that she had a back pack with her. She stood over Dean's sleeping form and shook her head. She put the back pack down and reached into it, pulling out a CD player and a plain white box. Fulton was very confused about what was going on. Dani placed the earphones of the CD player over Dean's ears and pressed play. The effect was instantaneous: The music was so loud that Fulton could hear every word clearly, it was The All-American Rejects 'Dirty Little Secret', Dean shot straight up and fell off of his bed, pulling the earphones off of his head.

"WHAT THE HELL!" He screamed. Fulton had to hold in his laughter, which was hard because it was a genuinely funny scene. "Dani?"

"Yes, Deany-Bear?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye.

"First of all, don't call me that around any of my teammates." He stood up and began to gather himself back together. "And second of all, what the hell?" He picked up his blanket and threw it back onto his bed.

"Tradition." She said simply. He looked confused and then she handed him the white box that she had pulled out of her back pack, "Happy Birthday." She said sweetly.

He looked at the box, to Dani, and back to the box, "It isn't lethal, is it?"

"You'll just have to open it up and see for yourself." Dani told him with a small sigh, and placing her hand on her hip.

"Okay." He told her as he broke the tape that held the two sides of the box together. He threw the top of the box on his bed and followed it with the tissue paper, pulled out a fantastic black leather jacket, then he just gawked.

"Oh my God!" Fulton exclaimed, "Dude, can I have you sister."

That made Dean come back to life, "What?"

"I mean... what I meant was... that sounded wrong." Fulton said, trying to find that right words for what he meant.

"I think I get it." Dean said. Then he returned his attention to his sister, "Thanks Dani-Girl; although, you can try and find another way to get my attention."

"And break tradition? Never!" Dani joked. Then she hugged her brother, "I better get going or Coach will kill me." She picked up her back pack and walked to the door. "Bye Dean, See you Fulton." Then she was gone.

"That has got to be the greatest jacket I have seen in my life!" Fulton said.

"That's my Dani-Girl."

"Question: Dani-Girl? Deany-Bear? Something I should know?"

Dean scowled, "It's a nickname. And if you ever call me that or tell anyone about it, I will have absolutely no problem maiming and killing you. Got it?"

"Okay, okay. I get it." Fulton said as he went back to getting ready.

(----)

"Man, what is the matter with you?" Max asked at the end of the day, "You look like someone died and you had to get rid of the body at two in the morning so no one will see." Everyone looked at him, "I would guess."

"He got an interesting wake-up call this morning." Fulton said, laughing.

"It wasn't funny." Dean scowled again.

"Hey, at least you got a completely awesome jacket out of the whole thing. Come on man, you have to admit that." Fulton told him.

"True." Dean agreed.

"Oh, right. The tradition." Max said, finally comprehending what was going on, "What song did she wake you up with this time? I hope it wasn't more of that pop-fluff crap that she used to use."

"No." Dean said, "It was The All-American Rejects."

"Dirty Little Secret?" Max asked.

"What else would you expect?" Dean said, shaking his head, "The only problem is that now I need to figure out some way to top her."

"Maybe Tammy will show you where their room is." Fulton suggested.

"No. The evilly-waking-people-up-at-the-crack-of-dawn thing is Dani's shtick. I just have to buy her something that she will freak out over. Now all I have to do is figure out what she wants." Dean said.

"Try shoes." Connie suggested.

"Shoes?" Dean asked.

"Every girl loves a good pair of Jimmy Choo's for a special occasion." Julie finished.

Dean raised his eyebrows, "Do you own a pair of Jimmy Choo's?" He asked. He didn't expect a tomboy like Julie to own a pair of Jimmy Choo's.

"Sometimes I go with my dad on his business trips during the summer and I need to look professional." She told him, "It isn't like I wear them all the time."

"You don't wear what all the time?" Scooter asked, slinking up behind them.

"Jimmy Choo's." Julie said.

"Aren't those a brand of shoes?" Julie and Connie nodded, "I think my little sister owns a pair."

"Scooter," Dani came up to the group, "Your little sister is five. What is a five year old doing with a pair of Jimmy's."

"Nuh-uh. I'm five and a quarter." said a small voice. Dani looked down and, sure enough, there was the small, excitable, copper-haired little girl she met when she and Tammy had to speak to Dean Buckley and the Alumni an hour ago. "Scooter, can I have some hot chocolate when we get home?" She pouted out her lower lip.

"Louise, it isn't even cold yet." He told her.

"PLEASE!"

Dani moved over between Julie and Connie, "He's going to cave in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." she counted down with her watch.

"Okay, you can." Scooter said. He gave a defeated sigh and shook his head. "Louise," He said, "Go say good-bye to mom and dad, and then we'll go. Okay."

"Okay Scooter." Louise replied and ran off at top speed.

"She's not going to sleep tonight." He mumbled to himself.

"I'm guessing that the fact that you are the biggest push over in the world is the reason that she has a pair of Jimmy's." Dani said, "Is it just for her, or are you a push over for anyone else."

"I plead the fifth." He said

"You never told me you had a little sister." Julie said.

"You never asked." Scooter replied.

Julie opened her mouth to speak but Charlie cut in, "We'd all love to see Julie kick your ass and all, but we have practice and we are cutting a little thin on time."

(----)

After practice, the Ducks managed to agree to meet at the diner that Charlie's mom worked at at noon the next day. Charlie and Adam were about to leave when Adam walked passed their coaches office and heard a loud thump. Charlie was already waiting for him outside, but he figured that Charlie could wait a little longer.

"Coach?" He asked as he knocked on the door.

"Come in." Said a frazzled voice from inside. Adam opened the door and saw that his coach was searching for something in his desk, "Got it!" Coach Orion said.

"Coach? You okay?" Adam asked.

"Banks? I'm fine."

"Are you sure? You look a little...what's the word I'm looking for?" He asked

"Spread?"

"That's it." Adam told him.

"Well," Orion started, "I have to file a lot of papers for work, then I have to take that mountain to my brother," He pointed to a large stack of papers on the table next to the door, "and I have to do all of this in less then 30 minutes so that I can pick up my daughter from her physical therapy on time!" He heaved a large sigh and placed his head in his hands.

"Why don't I just take those up to your brother? It's the room the girls are using as a classroom, isn't it?" Adam offered.

"I'd appreciate it."

"Sure." Adam said. He picked up the papers and left the room. He walked up the stairs and up to the door of the extra room. To his immense surprise, Adam could hear someone inside, sort of singing along to a song he didn't recognize; so he knocked.

Dani came to the door, "Hey." She said and smiled. She had a plate of crackers in her hand.

"Hi," He began, momentarily forgetting why he was there, "Uh, my coach asked me to bring these for yours." He told her, indicating the paper he was holding.

"His desk is over there." She told him, pointing over her shoulder to the other side of the room, "Just put them there and he'll be bound to find them."

"Thanks." He said.

"Not a problem." She said as he passed her and put the mountain of paper on her coaches desk. "Saltine?" She offered.

"No thanks. Does it get confusing having two Coach Orion's around? We never see yours, but they have to talk sometime." Adam asked, trying to not be nervous.

"I just call yours 'Sir'. That's my solution for everything." Dani said, wondering where that question had just come from.

"I heard you singing." Adam said.

"You did?" Dani exclaimed, "Oh no. I hate it when people hear me sing!"

"I thought it was nice. You have a good voice." He told her, trying desperately not to blush. A battle he was losing quickly.

"Oh, thanks." Dani said, blushing a little herself, "There's that corn-fed honesty again." She said jokingly. Adam cleared his throat and mumbled a small 'thanks'. "Un-salted Saltines."

"Huh?" Adam asked.

"I was thinking about the world's biggest oxymoron's. One of them has to be unsalted Saltines; I mean, they have the word 'salt' in the name."

For the first time since he walked into the room, Adam looked up and looked Dani straight in the eye. There was a knot in chest and his stomach was contracting. What happened next was unexpected to both of them. Adam lost his inhibitions, leaned forward, and kissed Dani. She was surprised, but she didn't pull away.

The moment, no matter how long it seemed to either of them, was short and broken abruptly. Adam seemed to get his ability to think back and pulled away, "Dani. I'm sorry, I didn't mean... I have to go." He turned around and rushed as fast as humanly possible out of the door.

When he got to the entrance to the rink, he rushed out the door and passed Charlie, "B-Banksie?" Charlie called.

"Let's go!" Adam called back and he and Charlie made there way to Charlie's apartment.

(-----)

"Adam! Banksie! Stop!" Adam had been pacing around the living room for the better part of an hour. Charlie had grabbed Adam's shoulders to get him to stop pacing, "Man, chill. What is up with you today?"

"Nothing." Adam lied.

"Sure." Charlie replied, sceptically. There was a knock on the door, "That's Terry and Jesse. Sit down and chill out."

Charlie went to get the door, and Adam whispered, "Yeah, chill out. Easier said then done. If Portman finds out he is going to kill me!"

"Cake-eater!" Jesse called as he entered the room, "What's up man?"

"The ceiling." Adam said, tapping his fingers nervously on the arm of the couch. He was tapping his foot and doing whatever else possible to release some of his anxiousness.

"What's up with him." Terry asked, looking Adam up and down.

"I don't know." Charlie told them, "He's been like that ever since he left the rink at school. He was fine right after practice, then I went out to wait for him, and he ran out of the building like he was being chased by a pack of wild dogs or wolves or something!"

"What is up with you?" Jesse asked, holding down Adam's tapping arm with his hand, "Stop that, your making _me _jumpy, and I don't even know why _you_ are so hyper."

"Okay, look. If I tell you guys, will you solemnly swear to never tell anyone, EVER. Especially nobody on the team." Adam looked around, "You can't tell Scooter either, he might tell Julie."

"Sure cake-eater. What the hell is going on?" Terry asked.

"Okay look, after practice I was doing a favor for Coach Orion, and it involved going to the room that the Figure Skaters use as a classroom." Adam began.

"And?" Charlie urged.

"I'm getting there." Adam retorted, sourly, "Anyway, Dani was there and I started talking to her..."

"So that is why you took so long!" Charlie said. He, Terry, and Jesse suddenly looked much more interested in where Adam's story was going.

"Well. We were talking and, I don't know how it happened, but the next thing that I knew, I was kissing her."

"Thank GOD!"Jesse yelled out.

"It's about time." Charlie said.

"Go cake-eater. Go cake-eater!" Terry said, "Good for you!"

"NO! No, not good for me." Adam said, exasperated. "I am screwed over!" He placed his elbows on his knees and placed his head in his hands.

"Why so glum?" Jesse asked, "You just kissed a gorgeous girl, who you have a huge crush on. She didn't pull away or anything, did she?"

"No, I did."

"Gah! Idiot!" Terry said, "If a girl doesn't pull away, it's usually a good sign. A **_very _**good sign!"

"Look guys, I told you before, it's apparent that Portman is really protective of her. If he finds out, I'm as good as dead!"

"IF!" Jesse said, "If is not a definite. He might not ever find out."

"Hi boys." A voice called from the hallway.

"Mom's home." Charlie said.

"We can tell stupid." Jesse said.

Charlie's mother walked passed them with two bags of groceries and into the kitchen, "Hello Terry, Jesse. I wasn't expecting you two to be here."

"It's okay that they're here, isn't it Mom?". Charlie asked.

"Of course." She replied. Then she pulled out a can of pasta sauce, "But, all four of you have to help me put these away." She told them.

"Mom, where is..." Charlie began to ask about his stepfather.

"He is visiting his parents in Mississippi. I told you that his mother was sick, didn't I?" She asked.

"Oh yeah. I forgot." Charlie replied. He walked into the kitchen and began to unload the groceries along side his mother, "Hey, you three have to help to!"

"We're coming." Terry said.

As Adam walked into the kitchen he heard Casey say, "Let's see, pale, jittery, terrified-yet-ready-to-touch-the-clouds look. You put a move on Dani didn't you, Adam?"

"Huh?" Adam asked confused. He looked around to Charlie, Terry, and Jesse; they looked just as confused as he felt, "How did you...?"

"Female intuition." She said, pulling out a box of crackers. "What?"

"Nothing." Adam said, "It's just that Dani was talking about oxymoron's and she said that one of the biggest oxymoron's was un-salted saltines, because they have the word 'salt' in the name."

"I'd agree." She said.

"Wait a second." Charlie said, "You went from talking about crackers, to kissing. I like your pace Banksie!"

"Charlie!"

"Sorry Mom."


	9. Why?

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-----)

**hockey-girl90-** Thank you for reviewing, and for being honest. Which part or parts of the last chapter were confusing? I'll be happy to explain anything that was in anyway confusing for anyone.

**PrincessH-** As I said before, I try to follow the movies as much as possible when it comes to characters from the movies. It's nice to know that I am doing well. Thank you for the compliments! They are appreciated.

**BrokenAngel1753-** Thank you! I try to make my chapters as funny (or serious) as possible with out going overboard.

**mickEmousina-** Yes, unsalted saltines is quite the oxymoron. I got it when a friend of my sister was mad because he didn't have any salted crackers for his chili, but I digress. Which oxymoron's did you come up with? It may seem weird, but I have a little obsession with them.

(-----)

At 8:00 in the morning it was an hour and a half before Adam normally woke up, but he couldn't sleep. His mind was completely preoccupied. He was just sitting at the table in the Conway's dining room.

"Earth to Adam." A voice said. He shook his head and looked up.

"Hi Mrs. Conway." He said. All of the Ducks still called her 'Mrs. Conway' despite the fact that she had remarried, it was habit and she accepted it. Adam looked back down to the table and sighed heavily.

"Are you okay." Mrs. Conway asked as she sat down next to him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Peachy. Just peachy." He replied.

"Preoccupied about yesterday?" Adam looked up at her with a surprised look on his face, "Female intuition again, and your projecting so it's pretty obvious." She told him.

Adam sighed, "I hope that Connie and Julie don't have that kind of female intuition." He placed his elbows on the table and placed his head in his hands, "Because if they do it'll get to Portman someway or another. And then I'll be dead."

"Overprotective?"

"Very." Adam replied, "And she has three more back in Chicago."

"This reminds me of what happened to a friend of mine when I was about your age." Mrs. Conway said, "She was the only girl with two brothers who would always hound her every move, and attempt to hurt anyone who she had any interest in, or who had interest in her."

"What happened to her?" Adam asked.

"I think she joined a convent, actually." Adam sighed and laid his head on the table in defeat. "Not helping, am I?" Adam shook his head, "Well, I wish I could do more, but I have to get to work. Enjoy trying to wake up the three logs in pajamas."

"Bye Mrs. Conway."

(----)

At ten Terry, Jesse, and Charlie finally woke up after Charlie's alarm clock went off. "What the hell!" Jesse asked in a loud and disgruntled voice, "Charlie, why did you set the alarm for ten?"

"I didn't!" Charlie said in a scandalized voice, "Banksie?"

"What?" Adam asked as he walked back in Charlie's room.

"Did you set my alarm?" Charlie asked. He looked ready to throttle Adam, and the smile on Adam's face wasn't helping matters at all.

"Yes." Adam replied.

"Why?" Terry asked, with fire in his eyes.

"Because it gives us two hours to do what we want before we go to the diner and meet the guys." Adam said, "Besides, this way you don't mess up your sleep schedule."

"Whatever cake-eater." Jesse said, getting out of bed and grabbing his clothes, "First dibs on the bathroom."

"But it's my house!" Charlie said.

"Yeah, but I was up and out of bed first." Jesse retorted as he walked past Adam in the direction of the bathroom.

(-----)

Adam finally got Terry, Charlie, and Jesse to leave the house around 11:00. They skated around for about thirty minutes until they reached the pond that they skated on as kids.

"Charlie, remember when we first met Coach Bombay here?" Terry asked with a chuckle. Adam hadn't been a part of the ducks at that point, but he had heard the story.

"Yeah. He got really mad because we climbed all over his limo. It was priceless." Charlie replied. "To bad Banksie couldn't see it, but he was to busy being a prick with his little Hawk buddies."

"Gee, thanks." Adam said in a sarcastic voice.

"ADAM! CHARLIE!" A voice called. The group looked over and saw Dani running up to them. Adam turned _extremely_ red as Charlie, Terry, and Jesse laughed, "Hi."

"Hi Dani." Charlie said, "I don't think you have met Terry and Jesse Hall." He pointed out Terry and Jesse as he said their names and they said hello.

"No, I haven't, not really anyway." Charlie, Terry, and Jesse looked confused, "The bus."

"Oh yeah. Nice to met you properly." Terry said.

"Ditto." Dani replied, "I also remember hearing them try to get you to talk to me, and you kept refusing." Adam's eyes grew to the size of saucers, the others just laughed, "It was adorable in a way."

"You see Banksie? We were being adorable." Jesse teased, making his eyes grow and pouting like a puppy. Adam just shook his head and looked at Dani as if to say _'why must you encourage them.'_

"And Adam, you dropped this yesterday." Dani pulled a sidekick out of her pocket, "I figured it was important." Adam took it back and his eyes widened again, "Don't worry, I didn't do any digging."

"Thanks Dani." Adam said, still a little freaked out. The girl he had a crush on had had his sidekick for about 18 hours, who knew what weird things one of the Ducks might have written as a joke.

"MY MUSE!" a voice cried as the body attached wrapped it arms around Dani. She looked shocked and she was speechless for a moment.

"DOE! Let her go. You're goin' to break her ribs!" A British accented female voice called to the body holding Dani in a big bear hug.

"Listen to her!" Dani agreed in a constricted voice. The body let her go and she took in a deep breath before saying, "I love you guys, but if you ever do that again, I will hurt you!" She placed her hands on her ribs and breathed out heavily.

"Dani!" Another female voice said as it ran up to her. This voice was attached to a very attractive girl, about Connie and Julie's heights, with long blue/black hair who was wearing a black leather jacket with a hockey jersey under it.

"Leah!" Dani cried, pulling the girl into a hug. The other girl came up to her, "Eve! My lovely dark chocolate friend." Dani said as she gave the girl a small peck on the cheek as the girl did the same for her, "I love you British person! And your hair!" The girl patted the bottom of her short dark brown hair with red and blond highlights.

"Um, Dani?" Adam asked timidly.

"Oh, right." Dani said, "Guys this is Adam Banks, Charlie Conway, and Terry and Jesse Hall." She told the people surrounding her, "This is Leah Tracy," She indicated the girl with blue/black hair, "Eve Wilton," She indicated the British girl, "And Oliver Adoeben, better known as 'Doe'." She pointed out the body that had grabbed her; a very tall, well groomed young man with chestnut brown hair. "They are my best friends, and I have no idea why they are here."

"Well," Leah said, "We figured that considering out school starts next week, that we could visit you over the weekend and we could catch up. What time is your practice over?"

"Four." Dani said.

"We can entertain ourselves for four hours." Eve said, "I have always wanted to see the Mall of America."

"Wait a minute." Charlie said, "Doe? The one who made Portman turn several different shades of red and purple."

"The very same." Dani told them. Doe looked very pleased with himself. Eve and Leah were on the verge of bursting into laughter and tears.

"What did you do?" Terry asked.

Doe looked like he was fondly remembering something that was very funny, "I'll tell them." Dani said, Doe nodded, "Okay, at the beginning of school, at my school, we always have a showcase. It's kind of like a Talent show, but there are no prizes. The Talent show, with prizes, is at the end of the year, but that's beside the point." Dani pulled a water bottle out of the bag around her waist and took a drink. "Any who, Dean and I were in the showcase and Doe was the host. I bet Doe that he wouldn't kiss Dean in front of the entire school after the showcase." Terry, Jesse, Charlie, and Adam were gaping at them, "Let's just say that Doe got the money, and I gave him an extra five for the hell of it."

"I would have loved to see that." Terry said.

"I've got it on tape." Dani said, "It was funny, even if Dean isn't your type dear." Dani told Doe.

"I know he isn't. You know that I'm not into the whole 'bad boy' thing." Doe told her, making air quotations when he said 'bad boy'.

"Something you and Dani have in common." Leah said.

"LEAH!" Dani scolded her.

"Is that a 'C'?" Charlie asked, finally taking a look at the hockey jersey that Leah was wearing. "Is that a captain jersey?"

"Yeah, I'm the captain of my high school's hockey team." Leah told him, flipping her hair over her shoulder and showing off the 'C'. "Meaning I was Dean's captain until he came here."

"She's been the captain on every team that she and Dean have been on since they were 5." Dani told them, "My guess is that Connie and Julie would love to get their hands on that kind of information."

"Yeah." Adam said, nodding his head.

There was a loud beeping noise and Dani looked at her watch, "Oh crap!" She exclaimed, "I have to get back to practice or my coach will kill me! I'll see you guys later." She said, waving good-bye and running off.

"Pleasure to meet you all." Eve said, "But we should be going."

"Bye." They said as the three characters left, "We need to get going to, it's almost noon."

(----)

"What is with you guys?" Dean asked Terry, Jesse, Adam, and Charlie, "Why do you keep staring at me?" They knew that he was getting a little weirded out, but getting what Dani had told them out of their heads was hard.

"No reason." Jesse insisted, "Everyone is here, shouldn't we go do something?"

"No, not yet." Dean said, "We have to wait for Max."

"Who?" Terry asked.

"Max. Max Newmen." Charlie said, "He is an old friend of Portman's, and his dad got transferred here because he is in the Army. Max ended up at Eden Hall."

"Oh." Terry and Jesse replied.

"There he is!" Connie said, pointing out the window. There he was, unmistakable Max, but he wasn't alone, "Who are they?" She asked as she looked around the group.

"Oh, no!" Dean exclaimed, "Three of the five members of the of Chicago's own fantabulous five!" Dean groaned and smacked his head on the table.

"Portman? What are you doing?" Fulton asked as he watched Dean smack his head repeatedly on the table. "And 'fantabulous'?"

"I am trying to break my skull on this table, and I don't want to talk about it!" Dean said as he continued to smack his head on the table. "If you want to know, ask my sister."

"Well, well, well," A voice said, "If it isn't the little pinprick that I finally got rid of." Leah sat on the table next to Dean's head. Everyone could see Dean turn a shade of puce as he stopped banging his head on the table.

"Hi C. What are you doing here? And why? Is this some form of imaginative torture that you with to try on me?" Dean finally looked up at the slightly goth and scary girl that was sitting on the table. Then he shot a look at Max.

"Sorry man. I ran into them on may way here." Max said.

"What took you so long, anyway?" Goldberg asked.

"My dad isn't the easiest person to get away from or passed." Max told them, "I had to finish up everything that I had to do before I could go."

"Yeah," Eve broke in, "Maxie's old man is a right pain in the ass."

"Eve," Dean said, "You're here too? I thought you were vising you grandparents in London." Dean took in a deep breath, and looked at Eve.

"I was. But school starts on Wednesday for us, so we decided that we wanted to see our little future gold medal winner." Eve told him, "So chill out. It's not like we are going to tell any painful stories about you." Charlie had to spit his water back in his glass to hid his laughter, Adam nearly choked on the pickle he was eating, and Terry and Jesse had to practically eat their own lips to stop themselves from laughing out loud.

"What is up with you four?" Kenny asked as he looked at the hysterical looks on Charlie's, Adam's, Terry's, and Jesse's faces.

"Nothing." Adam said in a gasping voice after he got himself to not choking to death. He took in a deep breath and got himself together.

"Whatever." Dean said.

"What about me?" A voice said as the body of Doe came into view and he looked around the table with a huge smile on his face, "I'm here too." Adam couldn't help but notice that Dean was turning a brilliant shade of beet red. Then Doe blew a kiss somewhere and Adam, Charlie, Terry, and Jesse lost all the control that they had and started to laugh hysterically.

"What the hell is going on?" Russ asked as he looked around to the four laughing machines, to Max, to the three new comers, to Dean, and back around again.

"Should we?" Charlie asked in a low voice; Adam, Terry, and Jesse agreed, "Let's set the scene: Chicago, Illinois, before Portman joined us at Eden Hall. His former school has what is called a showcase, sort of like a talent show..."

"But with no prizes." Jesse interjected. "Anyway, Portman and Dani were in the showcase and and Doe here was the host." Everyone was enjoying the rapidly bright turning color that Dean's face was becoming, he looked ready to kill.

Terry began the next part of the story, "Dani and Doe had a small bet going on that included much embarrassment for poor Portman. If Doe won, he got five bucks." At this Dean practically leaped over the table; he was stopped by Leah and Eve, who grabbed on to his arms and stopped him from moving.

"Let's just say that Doe got the five buck." Adam finished.

"Actually I got ten. An extra five for the sheer element of surprise part that I wanted to put in there." Doe made an elaborate hand gesture when he said 'surprise'. "It was great." Four pairs of enormous eyes later, "No! The money part was great." He jerked his head towards Dean and whispered, "Not exactly my cup of tea."

Again, laughter, "Portman if you didn't notice," Max said, "_quello era lui, dissing la vostra abilità baciant_." **(Italian: that was him, dissing your kissing ability.)**

"_Vada ad inferno, Newmen." _Dean said. **(Italian: Go to hell, Newmen)**.

"Well," Eve said, "We must get going. We need to find something to do while Dani is at practice, and I have a feeling we have overstayed our welcome." She pulled out her car keys, "I'll be waiting in the Scion."

"I'm just getting over the fact that I don't have to worry about you on my team anymore." Leah said, "But just because I'm not your captain anymore doesn't mean that I won't kick you ass when I feel like it."

"Gee, thanks C. That's nice to know." Dean said as Leah walked out of the door, followed by Doe. "Oh god. Watch out Minneapolis."

"What was that about?" Fulton asked, looking over to his best friend, very confused.

"I don't want to talk about it." Dean said, "Who told you guys about that?" He asked Terry, Jesse, Adam, and Charlie.

"Dani." They chorused.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to kill her when I see her. But know, where does anyone want to go?" Dean asked. He looked around waiting for an answer, no one gave one. "Can we forget about what just happened?"

"What happens if we don't?" Averman asked.

"I'll kill you." Dean said.

"Yes sir." Averman replied.


	10. Family

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**BrokenAngel1735-** Yes, poor Dean. But, life isn't always fair. Thank you for the review. I tried to make the last chapter as funny as possible, without getting ridiculous.

**PrincessH-** Thanks! Much appreciation!

**Lilmonkey1507-** Wow, um, wow. That was a lot of unexpected praise. I am happy that you think that I have an awesome story. Also, I am more then happy to know that your friends as school like it as well. I always try to fit my own characters in without breaking down what was already there, and I try to stay true to the characters from the movie (but I have already said that before, so I'll move on). Dani's friends are partly made up of people I know, but they also come from the little friend we all have, imagination (I hope that didn't sound to cheesy!).

**malfoy's fair maiden-** Well, two reviews, for two different chapters, on the same day. That hasn't happened to me before. Not that I don't like it, it's a real confidence booster! But anyway, I'm glad you like and I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story as well.

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Dean was sitting in his Media Analysis class, tapping his pencil on his desk. He wasn't sure exactly _how _he had gotten into Media Analysis, but he got a grade for watching or reading and discussing commercials, movies, television, newspapers, and magazines, so it couldn't be that bad, right? Well, it was. His teacher, Ms. Hallem, was a very opinionated women and she had a tendency to bring in anything that had to do with politics and current events, the normal boring things that he heard about everyday.

The bell had just rung, and Dean was waiting for Ms. Hallem to enter the classroom, "Hey, Portman," Fulton asked, leaning over to talk to him, "What do you think Ms. _Hell_em is going to bring in today?"

"Anything that involves war, famine, or death." Dean said stoically, "She's into that kind of doom and gloom a lot, you know that." Dean was leaning back in his chair and massaging his temples. He had a splitting headache and wasn't sure exactly where it had come from.

"Guys, cut her a break, okay." Adam said as he leaned over the back of his chair and turned his head to look at them. Julie was in this class as well and she turned and agreed with Adam.

"Good morning all!" Said the over excited voice of Ms. Hallem. She was a young women, fresh out of collage, who could be annoyingly peppy when she wanted to be, "Today we are going to discuss unstructured media. I guess that is what you could call it."

Dean looked up from his desk, "What does that mean, exactly?"

Ms. Hallem looked up from her desk and stared at him, "That means lots and lots of sport talk." The class whooped, "Olympic addition." The class silenced, "Meaning they will be talking about the teams and individuals in the Olympics that they, well, the one's they want to. That's about it, and after we watch it we will be discussing the differences from this 'unstructured' news to what is seen as regular or 'structured' news." A groan, "Oh, come on people, it won't be that bad." She pulled a tape out of her desk and placed it in the VCR on the television in the classroom and pressed play, "And, don't forget, if you fall asleep, you will be the first person I call on to lead the discussion, and you had better be good at it."

Dean sat back in his seat and watched. The class wasn't half as bad as he thought it would be. The show was actually interesting and had immediately gone to the subject of hockey.

About fifteen minutes into the argument about which hockey team was going to win the gold, a knock came on the door. Ms. Hallem went to the door and opened it to reveal Coach Orion, Dean's Coach Orion. Dean heard him mumble something about papers and her being a life saver, until...

"Well, off of hockey and onto something else so that you two don't kill each other." One of the hosts, a twenty-something year old named Diana, said to the other two hosts, "Let's talk about the Figure Skating Teams."

The other female host, Portia, said, "Eric Orion! U.S Women's Figure Skating coach! Always has been hot, always will be hot!"

Dean heard a thud behind him, his coach had dropped whatever he had been holding when Portia had proclaimed that his brother was hot. Dean heard him mumble, "I didn't need to hear that!" He, Fulton, Julie and Adam turned around in their seats to see their coach looking like he just swallowed a whole hockey puck.

"Actually," The only male host, Harper, said, "I'm gravitating more towards..."

He didn't get to finish his sentence, as Diana cut him off, "I swear, if you say Danielle Portman, I will personally find a fitting torture method for you!" Harper gave a look that said _'what-is-wrong-with-her?' _Diana sighed as Dean cringed, "You moron! She's only, like, 16!"

"Ooops." Harper mumbled.

"When I got on this subject I thought that we would be talking about something important, like what some people are calling 'The biggest rivalry in Figure Skating since the Tonya/Nancy incident'."

"Huh? What are you talking about?" Portia asked.

"Let's just go to the tape!" Diana said, thoroughly exasperated. She turned to the large television behind her and was followed by the other hosts. Dean was confused, Dani hadn't told him about any rivalries in the Figure Skating world.

The tape began with a slow, somber melody. Then... a huge crash as two flags, with 'USA' and 'Iceland' written in letters that looked like crushed rocks, crashed together and signaled a staccato-ed, harsh, and angry beat. As the beat hit his ears, Dean saw pictures of two girls flashing in the screen. One of the girls was Dani, the other was a very pretty girl with stick-straight blond hair and icy blue eyes.

The scene changed and clips of Dani's best jumps and spins flicked passed, followed by clips of the other girl pulling off moves that Dean hadn't seen before. The images flicked past as Dean racked his brain to remember what he was seeing.

The mood and sound got faster. The pictures of each girl were alternating and the speed was rapidly getting faster. Finally the clips and pictures were going by so fast that Dean could barely see what was going on.

Then, it stopped. The sound died down and the movement ceased as two pictures came from either side of the screen and slammed together. On the picture of Dani it said:

"DANIELLE PORTMAN: THE USA RULE BREAKER"

On the picture of the other girl it said:

**"Gala Stahl: Iceland's classic beauty"**

Then it was over. That was it. It left Dean more confused then he was before that stupid tape had played, and it didn't help that Julie, Fulton, and Adam were staring at him. "What the hell was that about?" Fulton asked as he leaned over his desk.

"I have no idea." Dean admitted. "Did anyone get that 'USA rule breaker' part?" He asked, looking to all of his friend hoping that they would be able to give him some explanation as to what he had just seen.

(------)

Dean had gone through the rest of the day with his mind very occupied and full of questions that he would try to not bombard Dani with. He didn't understand why Dani would have not told him about any aspect of her skating, they always told each other everything, especially if it had to do with skating.

"Portman? Man, what is up with you?" Max asked at the end of hockey practice, "You look like you were actually turned down for once." Max laughed at his own little joke.

"Haha, Newmen." Dean said, "I'm preoccupied, so leave me alone."

"Thinking about that tape we watched in Media Analysis today?" Julie asked, Dean nodded, "Doesn't surprise me. That was really weird, not to mention coincidental."

"How do you get that?" Fulton asked.

"Did you see what the other girls last name was?" Julie asked. Fulton and Dean shook their heads, "It was 'Stahl', that name and Iceland have only ever meant one thing to us."

"Wait a minute." Adam cut in, "You don't think that that girl was related to Gunnar Stahl, do you?"

"They do look a lot a like, except that her eyes are bluer." Julie said, "Anything is possible." Julie took a drink out of her water bottle.

"Wait a minute, how do you remember how blue Gunnar Stahl's eyes are?" Dean asked, looking at Julie incredulously.

"Well," She said, walking up to him, "When you can see him staring at you with the hope that you didn't catch the puck, you kind of remember this things." She had been shaking her half full water bottle at him and flinging water all over him, "Oops!" She said sarcastically before walking back to her locker and pulling out her bag.

A knock came on the door, "No one minds if I come in, do they?" Dani's voice asked through the door, everyone replied no. Dani walked in wearing a jersey that matched the one that Leah had been wearing two days earlier, "Hi Dean." She said pleasantly, Dean turned away, "What's with the ice shoulder?" She asked.

"He's just being a whiny little baby because we saw something about an rivalry between you and another one of the skaters." Fulton said, "I think her name was something like Gay.. no Gal...um?"

"Gala Stahl?" Dani asked in an antipathetic voices, Fulton nodded, "They are still spreading around that horse shit?" She asked herself, "Well, I'm not in a rivalry with anybody. And just so you know, the last name isn't a coincidence, she's Gunnar Stahl's little sister."

"Fantastic." Dean mumbled. "And I've been looking for that jersey!"

"It doesn't fit you anymore!" Dani said, indignantly. "Besides it isn't your team anymore, so when are you going to wear it?"

"You have no grasp of the concept of 'sentimental value' do you?" Dean asked as Dani shook her head no and smiled. "You are such a dork." Dean sighed as he turned around and began rummaging in his locker.

"Alright team," Ted Orion called as he walked into the locker room, "You all did a great job today, and it will... Dani what are you doing in here?" He asked when he saw Dani.

"Me? I was just having a little family chat." She said sheepishly, "I'll be going now." When she got to the door she said, "I don't know if this is the time to tell you Dean, but _Cami-e-Alec-essere-qui, arrivederci_!" She said as she raced out the door. **(Italian: Cami-and-Alec-are-here, bye!)**

Dean looked ready to keel over and die! But he calmly put down his stuff, opened his locker, and placed his head inside. It seemed that he was about to slam the locker door closed, when Max grabbed the door and said, "Don't try to break your neck, Portman." in a very nonchalant voice.

"_Sono venuto qui ottenere via da loro, non è il mio difetto che realmente desideriate vedere la vostra sorella!_" Dean grumbled. **(Italian: I came here to get away from them, it's not my fault you actually want to see your sister!)**

"That's because I haven't seen her since I had to move to Paris." Max said, "You get to see them all the time over the summer."

"Let me guess," Dean said, "You would probably change places with me in a second, is that right?"

"No." Max said sadly, down casting his eyes, "I wouldn't." He walked back to his locker and began to put his things away.

(-----)

Fulton and Kenny were walking back to their dorm rooms ahead of everyone else, for once they were finished first. "I hate when they do that!" Fulton said out of the blue.

"What?" Kenny asked turning and facing his big Bash Brother.

"Max, Dani, and Dean talking in Italian! It's weird, and I hate not knowing what people around me are saying!" Fulton said, scowling.

"Yeah, I agree." Kenny said, before running into a very large wall of muscle. "Oh, sorry." He quickly apologized before looking up, "Wow!" He said in shock, "It's an even taller Portman!" Fulton's eyes grew as he saw what looked like his best friend, just about 6 or 7 inches taller!

"Hey, honey?" A female voice said to the tall person, "Did you understand what Professor..."

"And a female Max!" Fulton spouted out before he could contain himself, "Ooops." He said sheepishly as they pair looked at them with 'confused' written all over their faces.

"Wait a minute," The girl said, she looked both of them over with fiercely green eyes that made them feel very odd and then seemed to remember something. Flipping her curly blond hair over her shoulder and pointing to each of them, she said, "Ken Wu and Fulton Reed?"

"Um, yes." Kenny got the courage to say.

"CAMI!" Max's voice called through the door. He came racing up to her and hugged her, "Fulton, Ken, this is my older sister Cami, I told you about her, didn't I?"

"Yeah," Fulton said, "And I would guess that that makes you Portman's older brother." He added to the other person.

"Yup," He said as he placed out his hand for Fulton and Kenny to shake, "Alec Portman, it's nice to actually meet you instead of having to hear my brother's rants." They both shook his hand.

"Hey! I heard that!" Dean yelled as he ran up to them, "What are you two doing here?"

"Well," Cami said, "I came here to see my brother. Dani told me that you were here." She ruffled his hair and said, more to herself, "You got rid of the white-man fro! I'm so happy."

"It wasn't a white man fro!" Max said indignantly.

"And I am here fore moral support, and to see you and Dani and mom, I guess." Alec said.

"You better be!" Dani yelled as she ran up an hugged her older brother. The rest of the team walked up behind Kenny, Fulton, Max, and Dean, "Hey everybody." She said.

"Guys," Dean began, "This is my older brother, Alec."

"And my older sister, Cami." Max told them, they all said hi. "Hi Dean Buckley." Max said, looking behind his team, "Hi Coach."

"Hi Coach. Hi Mom." Dani finished.

"Alec? Cami? What are you doing here? Don't you have class?"

"Hi, mom. Moral support. Not on Mondays." Alec said.

"Hello. Visiting my brother. Ditto, no class on Monday." Cami answered. She smiled as Mrs. Portman shrugged and gave them each a hug.

"Dean, Coach, this is my older brother, Alec." Dean said, introducing them.

They shook Alec's hand as Max introduced Cami, "And this is my older sister Camilla, you can call her Cami." She shook their hands as well.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Dean Buckley said, "But, Ted, we must be going." He herded him away as he was talking quickly about something that nobody understood.

"I have to get going too." Dani's coach said.

"Have fun on your date, Coach." Dani smiled as he mumbled something along the lines of 'you're never going to let me forget that, are you?'. Dani shook her head, "I never let anyone forget when I set them up."

"I see that Chicago's little Cupid has been hard at work here in Minneapolis." Cami said, Dani nodded her head and looked very pleased with herself.

"Cupid?" Connie asked.

"I'm good, well, very good at setting people up. And if you two ever stop being together, I'm going to have to kill you." Guy and Connie looked confused, "That means you're good. How long have you two been dating anyway?"

"Since they were 8!" Tammy called as she rushed up behind Dani. "It was actually quite frightening at that point." Guy looked embarrassed and Connie, ready to kill, all of the in-state Ducks agreed.

"Parlando della messa in opera della gente, quando siete che andate fare qualche cosa con..." Dean began. " **(Italian: Speaking of setting people up, when are you going to do anything with...)**.

But Dani cut him off, "I'm working on it!"

"I HATE YOU!" A familiar voice called as Doe came up behind Dani, "I need a shoulder to cry on." He stated as he placed his head on Dani's shoulder. Eve came up and did the same.

"What's wrong guys." Dani asked, patting them on the back.

"Leah is evil." Eve told her.

"One, we all know that, but what is wrong now. And two, why are you still here?" Dean asked, looking rather huffy.

"Dean," Dani said, "Shut up."

But his question was answered when Leah came up to them, "I get Mr. Portman, I get Mr. Portman. And you guys are stuck with those stupid sophomore teachers!" She chanted in a sing-song voice, "It's good to be smart!"

"Oh." Dean said, "Now I get it."

"Your dad is a teacher?" Dwayne asked, tapping Dean on the shoulder.

"The best one in our school!" Eve said, still very sore with Leah, "And he's a senior teacher, so normally you have to be a senior, but Miss Smarty-Pants gets to have him now!"

"I know!" Leah said, extremely pleased with herself. "Dani, we have to leave tonight! Come on, let's go. We do want to spend some time with you!"

"Okay, I'm coming," Dani said, "Bye everybody. Dean, you still owe me a birthday present." She kissed her mom good-bye and ran off.

"I'm stealing him," Cami said, putting her hands on Max's shoulders, "So you all can see him later. Are you coming, sweetie?" She asked Alec.

"Honestly, this your time, I'll catch up later." Alec replied, giving her a small kiss. Max and Dean rolled their eyes. "Want to put me to work mom?"

"Actually, yes." Mrs. Portman replied, "You're the compute genius in this family, maybe you can tell me what is going on with my laptop." Alec agreed and followed his mother away. Max and Cami jumped into Cami's car and drove away.

"Well, they seem nice." Julie said once Cami was gone.

"They are." Dean replied, "They really are."


	11. Pick and Kiss

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**PrincessH-** I thought someone might get a little confused by so many of the OC's showing up, so this wasn't really unexpected. The problem is that I can't really tell you why Alec and Cami came into the picture, but don't worry, this will be answered soon. Dani's friends had to stay (if only to be an annoyance to poor Dean). As for Tammy, she will be showing up a lot more in the next few chapters and as we get closer to the Olympics. Thanks for the honesty!

**Dragon Tamer Ruth-** Woot, new reviewer! Thank you, I hope that you like what happens next. Not just YAY, but a BIG YAY for the Bash Brothers; I know a lot of people who like the Portman strip-tease scene.

**hockey-girl90-** I appreciate the fact that you like what is going on!

**BrokenAngel1753-** THANK YOU!

**Lilmonkey1507-** As I said before, I am glad that your friends like this story as well. I am glad that you say you can't wait to see what happens next, I do try to keep things interesting.

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11:00 meant lunch time for Dani, but she had always been able to get something quickly. This was a good thing, because Cami had asked her a favor and Dani had no problem doing so.

11:00 also meant class change for the Ducks, and Dani ran into Averman and Luis first. They were digging through their lockers when Dani came up behind them and tapped them on the shoulders, "Les? Luis?" She asked as they turned to face her.

"Darling," Averman said, "No need to call me 'Les', you can just call me by my last name." He was smiling.

"Really?" Dani said in faux excitement, "Now I feel like I'm one of the group! I'm excepted, YEA!" She put her hands together and looked up at the sky as if thanking God. Then she turned to Luis, "And what should I call you? _¿Varo'n-puta? ¿Hombre de las señoras?_" **(Spanish: Male-whore? Ladies man?). **

Luis laughed, "Just call me Luis. What exactly did your brother tell you about the Ducks?"

Dani smiled and replied with, "A lot of things. Like you asked him about a tattoo during the Junior Goodwill Games." She said, facing Averman again. "And you got scared."

"He frightened me!" Averman said in an over-dramatized voice. He placed his arm on his forehead and cried out, "I have never been able to move on. I need a shoulder." He finished as he placed his head on Dani's shouldered and fained sobbing. Dani patted him on his back.

"Poor Averman," Dani said in a consoling voice, "Do you need a kiss?" Averman looked up immediately, shook his head vigorously, closed his eyes, and puckered his lips out as far as they would go. Dani laughed, turned Averman's head, and gave him a small peck on the cheek. "Dean also told me that you stole Rick Reily's girlfriend." Dani added to Luis as Averman stood there with a glazed over look in his eye and a goofy smile on his face that only he could fake so well.

"Well, what can I say?" Luis laughed, "_¡Soy un hombre de las señoras!_" **(Spanish: I'm a ladies man!). **He said this just as a blond girl in a cheer leading outfit came up to him and kissed him.

"I can tell." Dani said as the cheerleader pulled away. "Luis?"

"Oh, right." Luis said, "Dani, this is my girlfriend, Mindy. Min, this is Dani Portman. Dean's sister."

"The figure skater?" Mindy asked, Dani nodded, "You look a lot different then you do on t.v."

"I normally have on a lot of make-up on on t.v." Dani replied. "Averman, wake up!" She said, snapping in Averman's face. "I was here for a reason. You guys briefly met Cami earlier this week, right?"

"Cami?" Mindy asked.

"Max's sister." Luis said, "Yeah, no personal introductions or anything, but we sort of met her."

"She's pretty." Averman said.

"She's also dating my older brother." Dani told him, "And he is as bad, if not worse, then Dean." Averman snapped his lips together, "Well, she is an artist and she wanted me to get a picture or two of every member of the Ducks, so that she could draw portraits and stuff. So would you two mind?" She asked, holding up a camera.

"Sure." Luis said, pulling away from Mindy and standing up against his locker, with his infamous ladies man look on his face.

"That's great, thanks Luis." She took his picture and then turned to Mindy, "Could I get one with both of you?" Mindy nodded and walked up next to Luis, together they looked like everything your mother warned you about on your first day of school, "Thanks."

"Now watch the master at work!" Averman declared as he stood up against his locker and began to pose. He would flex his muscles (if he had any), or try to look intellectual by placing his hand on his chin, or squint his eyes and squish his face together. Dani couldn't help but laugh, he was exactly the goof-ball that Dean had warned her he would be.

"That's good." Dani said, Averman looked sad, "I need to have enough film to get shots of everyone else."

"But you'll come back to me of you have any left, right?" Averman asked with a puppy pout on his face. Dani laughed and assured him that she would, "Okay then. Bye."

"_Adiós, chica._" Luis said, waving to her. **(Spanish: Good-bye, girl.)**

"_Hasta la Vista." _She said to Luis (yes, **hasta la vista** is Spanish to those who don't know!), "It was nice to meet you, Mindy." Dani said, turning and shanking Mindy's hand.

"Pleasure to meet you." Mindy said sweetly. She wasn't exactly the type of girl that Dani could see going out with Rick Reily. But then again, Dani couldn't see _any_ type of girl dating Rick Reily.

(-----)

The classes at Eden Hall switched daily; that meant that you would have some classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and others on Tuesday and Thursday. On Tuesday and Thursday all of the Ducks had History together, the only class that had all of them in the same room at the same time.

"Hey, guys." Averman said as he and Luis sat down in History, "If Dani comes up to you at some point and asks to take your picture... Just expect it." He finished, not really sure what else he would have said.

"Why?" Dwayne asked, pulling off his cowboy hat so that he wouldn't get in trouble when their teacher entered the room.

"Because she is going asking us for them." Luis said, "She said that Cami wanted them for something."

"Portraits probably." Max said, running his hands over his head and flinching a little. "Give her an excuse to draw or paint or something, and she will at the drop of a pin."

"You okay man?" Russ asked, catching Max's flinch.

"Fine, I'm fine." Max said, "I'm guess I'm still a little sore from that fall I had yesterday." He added, talking about when he fell after hockey practice.

"Did you fall that hard?" Guy asked, "I didn't look _that_ bad." Max shrugged his shoulders, but didn't reply.

"Quiet everybody." A voice said from the doorway. Miss Dickinson, their teacher (and the best one in the school, in almost everyones opinion) had walked in the class, she was holding a massive stack of papers. "Guess what, everyone. I finally got to cleaning out my apartment, and I have no idea what to do with all of these."

"Recycle!" Dwayne said in his _'how-hard-was-that-to-think-of?' _voice. Everyone laughed, "I was being serious."

"It's not that you weren't being serious," Connie said, "It's just that, the way you said it was funny."

"Oh." Dwayne said, still a little confused.

"Well, off of what I found in my apartment, and on to what we will be learning about today. Ourselves." Everyone muttered in confusion, "All history is is learning about our past and how is shapes what we are able to do now. Who sacrificed what to bring about the today and the now." Charlie raised his hand, "Yes Mr. Conway?"

"This is sort of off topic, but I figured since we were talking about ourselves, I could ask. Why is your first name 'Emily'?" Charlie asked.

"You have no idea how many times I was asked that when I was your age." Miss Dickinson said, "I claim that I got the name 'Emily' because my parents were evil psycho's who had a love of poetry and wanted to torture me." Charlie nodded, "But, back on the subject. Today I will be giving you your homework at the beginning of class." A class-wide groan, "It will be due next Tuesday, so you have a week to finish." Everyone seemed happier. "This also means that I expect all of them to be absolutely amazing."

"What exactly is this week-long homework assignment?" Goldberg asked.

"A poster. Not just any poster, but a poster that clearly represents who you are and what you have been through in your life." Some of the Ducks looked around to each other, "And that does not mean just hockey or other interests. It means what has changed about those interests and how have you changed because of them."

"Hawwwwwkkkkssssss!" Charlie and Goldberg said simultaneously in sing-song voices. Adam slapped both of them on the arm, and then lowered in his seat.

"I'll wait until next Tuesday." Miss Dickinson said with confusion. "Anyway, I don't just want to see hobbies, I want to see you, how have you changed outside of what you do. How has the person changed? And not just you, tell me about your families and lives have changed."

"Two more brothers and out of that crappy apartment in Chicago's South Side." Dean muttered, more to himself then anyone else. "What?" He added when he saw people staring at him.

"Yet again, I will wait until next week." Miss Dickinson said, "I have a feeling that I will enjoy looking at these, so don't let me down."

"Yes, ma'am." The class said in unison.

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"Max is the only one who will have anything different to put on that assignment in History." Adam said in the locker room as the team was getting ready for hockey practice.

"Why do you say that?" Max said, chuckling.

"Let's see," Julie began, "Romania, Italy, Germany, Japan, France, England... stop me when I'm getting close."

Max laughed as he said, "You left out America, Spain, and Mexico."

"Why you gotta hate on my people!" Luis spat out, once he noticed which countries had been left out, "I see how the minorities are treated here, I think I should just go back to Miami!"

Without turning around, everyone said something like, "See you" "Bye" "Whatever man" "Enjoy Miami" "Have fun with that". Luis turned back to his locker with a scowl on his face.

"What the hell happened to you?" Connie's voice broke through the good-byes. Everyone turned to look at her and noticed she was looking straight at Max, who had taken his shirt off and was showing massive scraps down one arm and his side.

"I told you, it happened when I fell." Max insisted, "I fell down concrete stairs, what did you expect?" Nobody replied, "I'm fine, so can we, please, just drop it? Thank you." He continued to get ready and they were soon ready to get on the ice.

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"Hey, Averman?" Charlie said as they made their way onto the ice, "How was it to get a kiss from Dani this morning?" Dean stopped dead, as did Averman and Adam.

"What kiss was this?" Averman said in a terrified voice.

"You know, that kiss. Luis, you were there." Charlie said. Dean looked from Luis to Averman to Charlie and back around.

"Anyone care to give me any clue as to what the HOLY HELL you are talking about?" Dean asked. Averman slunk away as Dean narrowed his eyes, and Adam made sure to never get a Dean's bad side when it came to his sister.

"It was just a tiny, un-meaningful peck on the cheek." Luis said, trying to come to Averman's aid, "It was when Dani was getting pictures of us."

"Tiny and un-meaningful?" Dean asked in a menacing voice.

"Very." Luis replied.

"Okay then." Dean said, patting Averman on the shoulder, "I think that it is okay if I let you live, for now. I just don't ever want to hear that again."

"Aye, aye." Averman said as he placed his hand to his forehead in a salute. Dean walked away and Averman put his hand down and glared at Charlie, "I hate you." He said before stalking onto the ice.

"This is why I am not asking Dani out." A voice said in a whisper, making Charlie turn. "Portman is way over-protective of her and would have me skinned alive and left to drown in my own blood!" Adam was staring at his best friend with huge saucer like eyes.

"We can fix that!" Charlie said, exasperated. "And if we can't, then we just won't tell Portman that you are dating her. It can't be that hard to keep a secret." Adam looked at him with an incredulous look on his face; he knew that Charlie have never kept a secret in his life.

"Just don't try to get us together. If anything, I should be able to decide the pace in which I want to get into a relationship." Adam said. "And don't tell Terry and Jesse to try to get us together." Adam added, reading the plot that was formulating in Charlie's mind.

"Oh, fine!" Charlie agreed, "Just promise me you will at least go somewhere with her, un-escorted and unchaperoned, once before she has to go back to Chicago when the school year is over."

"Whatever Charlie." Adam said as he turned and skated onto the ice. Charlie merely shook his head and sighed at his friend's stubbornness, and skated after the team.


	12. Brotherly Love and an Invitation

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**foreeverjinxed-** Well, thanks! I'm glad that you like this story.

**BrokenAngel1753-** THANK YOU!

**Thoughtless Drumming-** Wrong? Wrong you ask? Who said that anything was wrong with our little Maxie? Something may or may not be wrong, but you'll find out soon enough. Yes, Dean is WAY too overprotective, and it will prove a hindrance, maybe. I'm glad that you thing that my stories are funny, but I really don't want your brother to inflict violence upon you because you are laughing so loud. Oh well, sorry.

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Adam was walking down the all of his dorm, making his way to the room that he shared with Charlie. He could have been in a much better mood then he was. His parents had _just _called to inform him that his older brother, Jamison (Jamie for short), was visiting home for the first time in what seemed like forever (but it was actually only about three or four years), and he had to visit with him. This meant that the plans that the Ducks had made for that weekend were totally and completely OFF! Once he reached his room, he roughly opened the door, stormed in almost unaware of the fact that all of the Ducks were inside with Charlie, slammed the door, and flopped onto his bed and buried his face in his pillow.

"What's up with him?" He heard Julie ask, "Is he trying to smother himself in his pillow?"

"I don't know." Someone replied, probably Russ, "Yo, cake-eater? What's up with you?" Adam groaned into his pillow, but didn't make any decipherable comments. "Cake-eater?" The voice said again in a singsong voice.

"Can I help you?" Adam asked angrily as he raised his head and looked at the shadows of his teammates on the wall. He knew he should tell them that his weekend was was basically ka-put, but if he did, then there was no going back, and he would have to stay with Jamie. All. Weekend. Long. Oh, crap!

"What's the matter with you?" Ken asked as Adam continued to stare at the wall.

"It's nothing, it's just that..." He didn't have time to finish. At the same time as he planned on telling them the truth, his cell phone rang. '_Saved by the cell phone.' _Adam thought. "Hello?" He asked into the phone.

"Get your ass out here, now!" A voice commanded. _"Or not." _It was Jamie, why was he calling Adam now? "I'm serious, you have to show me around this place."

"What? Now?" Adam asked incredulously. He was going to have to spend the whole weekend with the guy, why did he have to show him around Eden Hall now? "Why?"

"Look!" A voice called as his dorm room door flew open, the person closed his cell phone simultaneously with Adam "It's obvious that you have plans this weekend," Jamie was standing in the doorway in a white wife beater and black jeans, his arms, one of which had a dragon tattooed on, were crossed across his chest. _"That look must be new." _Adam thought, "and my girlfriend is coming into town tomorrow, and I don't really want to have to spend the whole weekend with you anyway." He walked into the room and kept talking, "So we have to get as much brotherly bonding time in as possible until then. That way, mom and dad won't be completely on our asses about 'you two don't spend enough time together', so lets go. I'll be waiting outside." Jamie uncrossed his arms, walked out, "Just so you know, mom and dad told me your dorm and room number when I called them." and slammed the door.

"I see that Jamie is still as pleasant as ever." Guy remarked, "Or, is that really Jamie? Because, if so, he has seriously made some changes." Guy was right. The last time that any of the in-state Ducks had seen Jamie he was wearing a button-up top, a pair of tan slacks, and there was a distinct minus of a certain black, green, and blue dragon tattoo. None of the out-of-state Ducks even knew that Adam had a brother.

"Ahh! How college changes thee." Averman said in an over dramatic voice Everybody just shook their heads or rolled their eyes or, in Dean's case, threw the closet thing to them at Averman's head. "Ow!" Averman declared as a puck collided with his head.

"Well, I guess I should go and show him around. If I don't then I might have to stick with him and his girlfriend over the weekend, I'll see you guys later."

"Another thing," Charlie said before Adam had the chance to leave the room, "Since when does he have a girlfriend? I thought that Jamie was the self-proclaimed 'King of all Bachelors'?"

"Hey, I don't know this stuff. I was warned about him coming right after practice, it seemed to have just _slipped _my parents minds!" Adam made his around his friends and left the room.

"He doesn't seem to like Jamie that much, maybe they don't get along that well." Max said. All of the out-of-state Ducks agreed, but the in-state Ducks vehemently denied this claim.

"No," Charlie said, "no they get along great. Actually, Jamie was the first to come and visit him in the hospital after the Ducks vs. Hawks fiasco. That was when I first met him."

"Yeah." Connie continued, "Adam told us that Jamie was the one person in his family that didn't look at him with pity after he got switched. And he said that Jamie tried to convince him that it wouldn't be bad to switch to the Ducks, even though Jamie was a Hawk himself."

(-------)

Adam walked out of the dorm, only to be engulfed by his brothers muscular arms and "KNUCKLE SANDWICH!" Jamie called out. Adam struggled against his brothers arms, this was defiantly not the skinny, pale, timid, and preppy kid that had left for college in Nevada, just before the Junior Goodwill Games. Adam just thought that Jamie wanted to get as far away from their parents and hockey as possible and figured no place like the desert. Especially since Jamie had gotten yelled at for trying to put a positive side on the Hawk/Duck exchange. But that was before their father had gotten to know the Ducks, and Adam was sure things would be better.

"Jamie, let me go!" Adam called out from under his brother's arm. Jamie let go and Adam flattened his hair, "I think I kind of do like what collage did to you." Jamie laughed, "When did you get so... big and tan? When... what's with the tattoo? And what was with the attitude?"

"One question at a time little man." Jamie smiled, "Now I can actually make sense when I say that!" It was true, when Jamie was 18 he was scarcely two inches taller then a 13 year old Adam had been. Now Jamie at 21 was at least a head taller then Adam, and Adam had added some considerable height since he last saw his brother. "As for your questions, four years of college, an early college graduation present to me from me, and I just wanted to make an impression. I see you've noticed that I've changed."

"Yes. Sorry about playing the stubborn little brother part. How do you think mom and dad will feel about your new accessory?" Adam asked, raising one of his dark eyebrows.

"Now you're making me feel like a girl. That word, "accessory", I don't like it!" Jamie said, "So are you going to show me around here, or what?" Adam nodded and Jamie looked around, "It looks structured and good for growing minds like yours." Jamie teased, "And it seems that we have interested some ladies." Jamie pointed in the direction of the court that could get you anywhere in school.

Adam sighed, "Oh, them. That's Crissy Thomas and Janey Louis. They're sophomores and have been working on their high school reputations since they were in the seventh grade, mostly seniors and juniors." Jamie breathed in through his teeth, "Yeah."

"Hi Adam."

"Oh, hi Crissy. Janey." Adam replied as he tried to hide a look on his face that said '_Get me out of here or kill me now!' _"How are you doing?" He was trying to be as gentlemen-like as possible.

"Oh, I'm fine." Crissy said in a _trying-to-be-sexy-but-it-wasn't-really-working _kind of way. "But, unfortunately, I have nothing to do on Saturday night. I was wondering if you wanted to do something?" She fluttered her eyes in a flirtatious fashion.

_'She's being vague, we all know what that means.' _Adam said to himself. "Sorry Crissy. I can't." He looked from one to the other, "If you two would excuse us, we should be going." He grabbed Jamie by his shirt and pulled him towards the football field.

"What lovely girls." Jamie said with sarcasm. "Are they all like that here?" Jamie looked at Adam with a confused look in his face as he and Adam reached the far end of the field. Adam had grabbed a hold of a low hanging tree branch, swung himself up, and kicked out a section of the old wood.

"Don't worry, it always falls out." Adam said to Jamie's indescribable look. "And no, not all of them. Most of them, but not all." He had Jamie follow him, "This leads to part of the school were no one goes, it's shorter this way." He said as he let Jamie pass him and he put the wood back.

"So, about the school of sluts in training..." Jamie began.

"Well, there are a lucky few that are like Connie and Julie, but other then that, nothing really." Adam said, shrugging his shoulders. "And the ones that are here that don't go to school here are nice too."

"Wait, you have girls here who don't go to school here?" Jamie asked, "Has anyone caught the eye of my shy, sweet, and adorable little brother?" Jamie said in a mocking voice, pinching Adam's cheeks.

"No." Adam said indignatly.

"I beg to differ." A voice said, forcing Adam to turn around. Scooter was sitting on an old concrete bench, reading a book in French, and eating an apple. "I believe you are forgetting a certain brunette figure skater, about 5 feet give or take, really cute?"

"Scooter, hi." Adam said, "Scooter, this is my brother, Jamie. Jamie, this is Scooter Vanderbilt."

"Scooter?" Jamie asked as he shook Scooter's hand.

"Scott. But I prefer Scooter."

"Pleasure. What was that about a figure skater that my little brother failed to mention to me? He knows that I have to know everything." Jamie shot a look at Adam, who looked ready to run.

"U.S.A Women's Olympic Figure Skater." Jamie widened his eyes. "She's his age, smart as a whip, and can kick someone's ass in about five seconds."

"How did you know about here?" Adam asked.

"I followed you remember. Last year when you were with the Varsity and you came up here to mope and moan and sob and what ever else it was that you did." Scooter said. Adam rolled his eyes, "I figured that you had to right about something, so during the time that Cole and Reily wanted to kill me, I took over for you."

"Yeah, whatever." Adam retorted. He looked over to the old brick building that he thought was a storage building. "At least I got... What the hell happened to you?" Adam practically screamed. It seemed that the "storage building" was the Figure Skater's dorms. Oh, joy.

"Adam, you don't need to yell." Dani walked up behind Scooter, "Hi Scooter." She had scrapes on her arms and a cut above her eye that had liquid stitches on it and a split lip. Her mid-back length hair was up a little higher then normal in a single braid, except some hair framing her face. "I got into a fight with my ex's new girlfriend. I don't know why she was here, something about how I was trying to get back with him and that that wasn't going to happen on her watch. It was the biggest crock, considering I hate the bastard. She wants him, she can have him."

"Oh." Adam replied. Jamie elbowed him in the ribs. "Dani, this is my brother, Jamie. Jamie, this is Dani Portman."

"The figure skater?" Jamie asked. Dani shook her head yes. "I saw you when the Olympic Teams were being interviewed in Las Vegas."

"Did you now?" Dani asked, "And?"

"All of you looked ready to kill that reporter." Jamie said.

"_I_ was. He was complaining about me being a third-generation Olympian, even though my mom backed out, so that technically makes me just an Olympian. It was very annoying." Dani sighed a stray tendril of hair fluttering in the wind that had just picked up. "Anyway. I have homework calling my name. Bye." She walked back up to the door and opened it.

"Dani!" Adam called before she went inside. She walked back towards him with her eyebrows raised."The... the team is getting together at m-my place for a movie marathon on Saturday. I was wondering that, if you had the time, if you wanted to come. Ask Tammy and Tommy, too." Everyone was wide-eyed and Adam looked ready to be sick.

"An excuse to get away from here? I'd love too. Besides, Gia is going to visit her fiancée. Actually Tammy and Tommy have to go see their sick grandparents, but I'll run it passed them."

"Great." Adam said. Dani smiled and walked back to the door, and walked in and out of sight. "Oh my God!" Adam said once she was gone, "I can't believe I just did that!"

"Alright, little bro!" Jamie praised, "You might really be my real brother after all." He clapped Adam on the shoulder and tried to get him to make intelligible comments.

"Now all you got to do is kiss her and you'll be all set Banks." Scooter said with a twinkle in his eye.

Adam clapped Scooter on the shoulder and said, "You're a little behind in the grapevine." He walked back towards the school. Scooter and Jamie looked as he walked away, but then ran up to him, demanding explanations, "Just do me a favor and don't tell anyone." For once in his life Adam felt what it was like to hold the information that people really wanted to know, and that power felt great. Now just to make sure that his slip wouldn't get back to Dean and make sure that he wouldn't look like a complete moron at the movie marathon. This was certainly going to be a challenge.


	13. Interesting Changes

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**PrincessH-** Many thanks!

**Thoughtless Drumming-** I am glad that you liked, I hope that I continue doing well.

**BrokenAngel1753-** Yes, Jamie changed from prep to bad ass. I'm happy that you think that the change was interesting, just wait until his parents see him again! True, Adam is getting courage, I wonder what will happen next? Especially with Jamie around. Should be fun!

**Lilmonkey1507-** Yea! Three awesome's. Well, four, but who's counting? I am ecstatic that you can't wait to read more, and that you like the idea of Adam and Dani together, even if Dean does get ever so slightly overprotective and finds joy in ripping Adam into itsy-bitsy, tiny pieces. Let's all hope that that isn't going to be the case!

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Casey Conway was at work at Mickey's Diner, and she felt very sick. As she cast a glance at the clock over the door, Casey silently wished that Merci, one of the other employee's, would hurry up! It was almost time for the end of her shift, but she couldn't get off until Merci showed up. Looking over to one of the booths at the end of the diner she noticed at tall brunette women leaning over a mound of paperwork, a blue folder, and a muffin. Alyssa Portman seemed very flustered, but she was the only person that Casey could think of to help her with her current predicament. "Merci!" Casey gasped out in gratefulness.

"Sorry I'm late, Casey." The teenage girl said, "My car broke down! I had to get a ride. I'm not too late am I?" She had her brows furrowed and she was breathing hard.

"No, just get in your uniform and then get to work." Casey smiled as Merci heaved a huge sigh of relief and ran to the back room to change. Casey shot another look to Alyssa, who looked ready to plow her head threw a table. "Okay, just breath, Casey." She mumbled to herself. The urge to throw up her lunch was coming back.

"Okay, I'm back." Merci announced as Casey came back to life. "You can leave if you want to, you don't look that great." Casey sighed and nodded.

After she went into the back and got all of her things, Casey made a bee-line passed the door towards Alyssa's booth. "Mind if I sit down?" Casey asked. Alyssa looked up and stared for a few seconds.

"That would be giving me a reason to not work." Alyssa said, "That would make you 'all-mighty-goddess-of-the-world' in Alyssa Portman land." She ran her hand through her hair and then began to massage it. "Please sit."

"What are you doing?" Casey asked.

"You don't want to know, trust me. It is the epitome of all that is evil." Alyssa replied. "So, the matter with you? You have looked sick everyday that I have come in here for the past week."

"It's nothing," Casey said, without much conviction, "it's just that..."

"Hi mom." A voice said from behind Casey. She looked around and saw Dani standing with scratches on her face and a black backpack over her shoulder. "Are you two having an adult conversation that I am not allowed to join in on, or can I sit down?" She asked. Her eyes twinkled under her dark eyebrows.

"Sit." Alyssa said. Casey envied the relationship that the two before her had as mother and daughter. She loved Charlie to death and would do anything for him, but it had always been her dream to have a little girl, one that she could do girl things with. "Spill." Alyssa said as Dani sat down. "Now." She bit into her muffin and waited for Dani to reply.

"Wow mom," Dani said, "you have such a knack for those one-word sentences." Dani joked. Alyssa raised her eyebrows to show that her patience was running a little thin. "Fine, I got into a fight with Maria." Dani finally said.

"Maria? Wilson's new girlfriend?" Alyssa asked.

"The very same skankbag." Dani replied.

"Danielle Melita Portman!" Alyssa said indignantly, her voice was getting a very thick Italian accent as she spoke.

"Sorry mom." Dani said sheepishly, "It's just that she makes me so mad! She came all the way from Chicago to make accusations that I was calling _him _nonstop and that my wanting him to take me back. He's the one calling me!" Dani sighed in fury, "And if I remember correctly, didn't _I_ break up with him, not the other way around?"

"Yes dear. You did." Alyssa put her arm around her daughter and hugged her, "You'll be fine."

"But what if I have the urge to kill them all?" Dani asked. Alyssa raised her eyebrows, "No, I didn't hit her first. It was a cheap shot and she completely screwed it up. That girl can not throw a decent punch!" Dani looked over in Casey's direction in her anger, "Are you okay?" She asked.

"I'm fine." Casey replied, "It's just that, okay... How many kids do you have?" She asked Alyssa.

"Five."

"Okay, so how did you tell your kids when you were pregnant?" Casey was absolutely embarrassed when she asked that question.

"That depends." Alyssa finally said. Dani was completely stunned, was Casey saying what Dani thought she was saying? "Is this a hypothetical question or a real question?"

"Real." Casey said, though she didn't really want to answer.

"Oh! Wow that's, um, congratulations."

"Hello all." A voice said as the body sat down on Dani. "What did I miss?" Dean had come by with Fulton, Ken, Charlie, and Adam. Dani was hitting him in the back, "Hey, that feels pretty good!"

"_Madre, il vostro figlio sta schiacciandolo!_" **(Italian: Mother, your son is crushing me!)**, Dani said from under her large brother.

"Dean Salvatore Portman! Get off of your sister, NOW!" Dean stood up, glowering at Dani. "Thank you."

"Wow, you like using our middle names today, don't you mom?" Dani asked as she rubbed her upper thighs. Her mother smirked and nodded. "Whatever. Well, I must be leaving. I have things to do and people to hurt."

"Dani?"

"Kidding mom." Dani replied. "Adam, Charlie, one question I've been wanting to ask you guys," Both boys perked up, "what the heck does 'cake-eater' mean?" Dani looked from one to the other, Adam looked somewhat embarrassed while Charlie looked gleeful.

"It's a long story." Adam said finally.

"Well Adam, I guess you'll have plenty of time to tell me on Saturday." Dani replied, Dean raised his eyebrows, "Movie marathon, stupid! Adam was nice enough to invite me, not like you would have." She turned back to Adam, "By the way, I talked to Tammy and Tommy about it and they can't come."

"Unfortunate." Adam said.

"Yes, very. Well, I must be going." Dani walked passed all of the boys, but stopped and walked backwards to Fulton, "Fulton, you know that Tammy is very old fashioned. That being said, if you don't grow some... well, you know what I'm saying, and ask her out soon, I will be forced to hurt you." With that she fixed the collar on his jacket, patted it down, and left.

"Lovely girl," Ken said.

"Strange girl." Fulton said.

"She gets it from me."

"You threaten people, Mrs. Portman?" Fulton asked.

"No, but from what I heard, I can understand what Dani is getting at. From what I gather, Tammy use to go on and on about one, how did she put this, 'godly stud-muffin' that she played hockey with." All of the boys tried to contain their laughter.

"Okay, well that was a nice piece of disturbing information," Dean said, "but we should be going, we have to meet up with Max."

"Max?"

"No mom, we aren't going to his house. Nor do the psycho loonies of the universe know that we are in the same state, much less the same school; at least not to my current knowledge. They didn't find out that Cami and Alec came to visit, either." Dean said.

"Good, keep it that way."

"Yes, ma'am." Dean replied.

(------)

"'Psycho loonies of the universe'?" Fulton asked as the five boys walked down the steps outside of Mickey's. He grabbed a hold of Dean's jacket and pulled him around to face them all.

"Max's father and stepmother." Dean said, "I told you, they hate us. And they hate Cami for staying in Chicago with Alec and not going with them to Paris, even though she's eighteen and can make her own choices." Dean had a tone of loathing in his voice that no one had ever heard come out of his mouth. Not even when Coach Bombay had gotten all "Captain Blood" on them.

"Dude?" Ken asked, "What the hell is the matter with these people. We can tell that you don't like them, and Max said he agreed to come to Eden Hall to get away from them. What's the deal?"

"I don't want to talk about it. Besides, we need to get going or we are going to miss Max, which means we miss our ride." Yup, Max had his license. He was probably a full year older then most of the members of the Ducks, and was only in the 10th grade because his birthday was December 30th and his father felt it would be beneficial for Max to stay behind in the fifth grade. That had to suck!

(-------)

"What took you guys so long?" Luis asked as the group finally arrived, a big emphasis on finally!

"I had to wait for these five to show up! I'm not the reason that we are late for once." Max said jokingly. "What took you so long anyway?"

"Mother, sister, questions." Dean said vaguely. "It also seems that Dani will be a part of our little movie marathon on Saturday, why did you ask her to join in cake-eater?"

"It seemed like the polite thing to do." Adam answered. Connie and Julie, who had been the most in-tune with the growing relationship between Dani and Adam, smirked to each other.

"Whatever." Dean said.

"Speaking for the movie marathon, what movies are we going to get?" Connie asked, looking from on Duck to the next.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Dean began, "but if I know Dani, and I do, she will request at least one scary movie, probably 'Saw' or something like that." Dean shrugged.

"Dani likes scary movies?" Dwayne asked.

"Oh yeah, she's a sadistic freak like that." Dean said, "She hasn't missed a scary movie, that was playing in Chicago, in years." With the end of his exclamation, Dean's phone rang. Out of pure habit, his eyes flicked to the nearest clock. He saw that the time was 8 minutes after 6:00. Out of habit as well, he called out, "NOT HIM!"

"Dude?" Fulton asked.

"Just a second." Dean replied as pulled out his phone, "Oh, it's just my grandfather!" He sighed, "_Ciao._" Dean said, **(Italian: Hello.)**. Then he started to talk at about 110 miles an hour in Italian. Everyone looked at him with mass confusion, even Max had a hard time. Finally, "_Arrivederci._" **(Italian: Bye.)**

Everyone looked at Max expectantly, "Don't look at me, I didn't catch any of that, save 'hello' and 'bye'!"

"What was with the paranoid moment there?" Goldberg asked.

"It's nothing." Dean said, "It's just that, before I came to Eden Hall, Bombay use to call me everyday at some point between 6:00 and 6:10. I got into the habit of dreading that time period. Not just because I didn't want to talk to him, but because Dani would throw and apple at my head if I didn't pick up while she was home."

"An apple?" Russ asked.

"Yeah, an apple. She has good aim, and if they are thrown correctly, apples can be painful." Everyone was staring at him, "She always use to say that apples were the fruit of knowledge, and maybe if she hit me in the head with enough, I would gain some. She really wanted me to come here."

"Well that apple theory didn't work." Julie said.

"Screw you." Dean retorted.

"Not even in your dreams, Deany-bear."

Dean stopped dead, "She told you about that?"

"Nope." Julie said, "I just happened to be walking passed your dorm room on your birthday, when she was giving you your jacket. I overheard that lovely piece of information." She had a sly smiled crossing her face. "And you still owe her a birthday present." Something that Dean didn't have a rude comeback to. Damn, she was good.

"Speaking of Bombay, I wonder what he's doing now. Has anyone talked to him recently?" Charlie asked. Everyone answered no.

(-----)

In all factuality, Gordon Bombay's day was following the routine that he had just recently gotten use to. He was standing in front of his stove, cooking French Toast on his stove-top griddle. French Toast for dinner, he was owed for this. The table behind him was set for three and the radio across the kitchen was spill out a rock song from the 80's that he didn't remember the name to. He danced to it as he cooked, nonetheless.

"Daddy? Please stop, you have serious 80's dance moves." Gordon looked behind him to see his little girl in the doorway. Well, she wasn't that little. She was thirteen, and had something to say about everything.

"But I have to dance like that, it is 80's music." Gordon replied. "Aren't you supposed to be doing your homework and not worrying about my 80's dance moves?"

"I finished, and Julian is playing with his Matchbox cars." She said, "I was wondering if you wanted any help." She cast her eyes downward, as if this was a stupid question that she shouldn't have asked.

Gordon placed his hand under her chin and raised her head so that she was looking at him, "I'd love some help, Myrka." He said, she smiled. That was what he loved to see, her smile and be sincere about it. "Now, all you have to do is get that egg off of your chin." He joked. Myrka laughed and went over to grab a paper towel.

"What's so funny?" A voice asked from the door. Myrka's younger brother, Julian was standing there. "You _look_ funny!" The 6-year-old exclaimed when she turned around. They both laughed and Gordon thought back to how they had been brought into his life.

Myrka and Julian had been placed in foster homes since Myrka was ten. Their birth mother had died of cancer when Myrka was 8 and Julian was 1, and after her death, their birth father (who was already unstable to begin with) lost all sense of reality. He had begun to abuse his children. Myrka was the oldest and got the full blast of the beatings, she had learned to accept them for her little brother's sake. After two years, Myrka had become sick of getting abused and dropped hints to her teachers, getting Children's Protective Services involved. Gordon found it extraordinary that Myrka had been so resourceful and gotten her and her brother out of that situation. The father had been found guilty of child abuse and went to jail. He died soon after from a heart attack. After wanting children for as long as he could remember, and no where close to being in a relationship that was _that_ serious, Gordon had decided to adopt. He wasn't sure how far he would get, being a single man, but he had to try. And, behold, Julian and Myrka.

"Daddy? Are you alive in there?" Myrka asked as she sat at the table, mounds of French Toast in the center.

"Yeah, I'm here." He loved it when she and Julian called him dad or daddy. He loved knowing that they trusted his intentions enough to want to stay with him. He smiled and said, "Who wants syrup and powered sugar?" Both children excitedly agreed.

After dinner, Gordon made sure that Myrka's homework was really done and sent them both to bed. It was nine when they finally went into their room and got so sleep. Normally he would have let them stay awake until 10:00 or 10:30, but he knew that they had been staying up late all week long.

After he was alone, Gordon go to work. His desk was covered, yet organized, with papers regarding the cases he would be working. Then the phone rang. "Gordon Bombay." He said.

"Gordon, it's Stacy." The voice said. It was Stacy Jarvis, Myrka and Julian's social worker. Gordon sighed internally, he wasn't sure if this was good news or not.

"Stacy, hi." He said, trying to sound happy, "What going on?"

"I have a bit of information that might interest you." Stacy replied, "It seems that Judge Crabtree has decided to... approve Julian and Myrka's adoptions." Gordon stopped dead. Had he heard correctly? "Gordon? You still there?"

"Yeah," He said, "That... that's great!" He lost all thought. This was more then great, there were no words for what he was feeling at the moment. He ran his hand through his hair, "Thanks Stacy."

"Not a problem, Gordon." She hung up.

Gordon couldn't think. He was shocked and happy, more then shocked and happy. He was finally guaranteed the fact that he would be able to keep his kids. _His kids! _They may not have been his by blood, but they were, and always would be, his.

He walked down the hall and did the first thing he could think of. He opened the door to Myrka's room and walked in. She was sleeping peacefully, and Gordon didn't want to wake her. He slowly sat on her bed and stroked her hair. She moved around a little and moaned, then she opened her eyes and said, "Daddy? What is it?"

"Myrka, baby. I just got a call from Ms. Jarvis." Myrka looked very upset, "She said that Judge Crabtree decided to approve the adoptions." Myrka's eyes lit up and she lunged at Gordon with a shriek of happiness, pulling him into a huge hug.

"What's going on?" Julian asked. He had heard his sister's shriek and came to investigate.

"Julian! We get to stay! We get to stay!" Myrka said as she began to jump on her bed.

"They always say that, Myrka!" Julian said in a sad voice. He was young but he knew the trials of the Foster Care System, he wasn't sure whether he could trust what Myrka was telling him.

"No, now we really get to stay!" Gordon smiled and nodded. Julian smiled back and ran to Gordon, attacking his legs in happiness. "Daddy!" Myrka said, sitting down, "First thing after the adoptions are finalized, can we go to Minnesota and meet the Ducks?"

Gordon had told them plenty about the Ducks, "Sure. But first, you two need to get back to sleep." Myrka jumped back under her blankets as Gordon led Julian out. He got Julian and back in bed.

After the two had fallen back asleep, Gordon wondered what the Ducks would think if he showed up with a thirteen-year-old and a six-year-old. Russ and Jesse would probably say something like, "Bombay got with a sister?" Then he would explain about the adoptions. But beyond that, he wasn't sure what to expect. Oh well. He would cross that bridge when he came to it, and he would be crossing it with his children.


	14. Former Foes

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**Thoughtless Drumming-** Yes, Bombay got children. Ever since I saw the third movie (and maybe a little before that) I thought that he would make a great father, with all that he had been through with the Ducks. Glad that you like. If you don't want me to ask, then I won't. I hope that you like what happens next.

**PrincessH-** Ahhh, who can blame Tammy, that is the question. Sorry about that. I'm glad that you liked that part so much. So you don't have to worry, Fulton will be heading Dani's advice soon enough. I hope that I write it well enough.

**BrokenAngel1753-** Glad you like. Thank you!

**mdgirl18-** Thanks to the new reviewer!

(--------)

Connie and Julie were walking around the Eden Hall campus together. They were the only ones, excluding Adam, that had gotten all of their homework done, so they decided against staying inside. The weather wasn't too cold yet and both of them missed the time that they got to spend together, without Scooter or Guy or any of the other Ducks, it was just girl time.

They had been walking around for what seemed to be several hours, and they had gotten through all of the topic's of conversation that filled their girlish minds. The team, their boyfriends, the annoying preps and snobs that they had to be classmates with, and, most importantly, Adam and Dani's budding relationship "Please tell me you agree with me and think that they would be so great together." Connie said as the duo passed the football field.

"Of course I do." Julie said, "But there is one problem. Portman." Connie nodded in agreement, "I mean, he is obviously protective of her. But one would think that he wouldn't really have a problem with his sister dating one of his friends."

"Either that, or it would make it worse." Connie replied. Just then she stopped dead and sniffed in heavily, "Oh my God, do you smell that?" Julie did the same and nodded, "That smells so good!"

"Glad you approve." A voice said from behind them, Tammy walked up with a plate of cookies, "Dani is a complete wiz in the kitchen. Want one?" Connie and Julie nodded and each grabbed a cookie.

"These are good. You weren't kidding when you said she was a wiz." Julie said, licking white chocolate off of the corners of her mouth, "How did she learn to cook like this?"

"From what I hear, her dad." Connie and Julie raised their eyebrows, "I know, you would think that it was her mom, but Mrs. Portman told me herself that she's a master of disaster in the area of cooking. But what can you say, the Portman's are defiantly not the All-American family." Julie and Connie nodded in agreement. If _Dean Portman _was a member of the All-American family, they would have to start to wonder about the term 'All-American'. Now, if it were Adam and his family that they were talking about, Connie and Julie would have to be somewhat inclined to agree. But Portman? No! "You guys want some more, Dani always over cooks."

"Yeah." Connie said, "Where does she get to cook anyway?"

"In our dorm building. It's that one." Tammy pointed to the brick building that stood near the football field.

"People are always making up stupid rumors that that place it haunted." Julie said with a laugh.

Tammy laughed as well, "The only thing that haunts that place is the annoying and oh-so-clumsy one I have to call family, my brother. Poor Tommy." She turned, "So come on." Julie and Connie followed her into the dorm, and they were pretty sure that they had left Eden Hall. They walked into a stainless steel kitchen, with Twisted Sister blasting out of the radio, and Dani humming along as she pulled more cookies out of the oven. "Hey, Dan." Tammy said

"Hey." Dani said, then she turned around, "Hey Connie, Julie." Both girls said hi, "Did you two come for cookies?" She asked, both nodded, "Well, I've got chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, peanut butter, and peanut butter chip. Enjoy thy selves."

Julie and Connie swapped surprised looks, "I told you," Tammy said, "This girl is crazy, she overcooks!" Dani did a little bow and turned off the radio. "So Dani, you didn't finish telling me your story."

Dani suddenly blushed bright tomato red, "There's nothing to tell, trust me." She went back to cleaning up the mess that she had made while making cookies.

Julie looked at Dani, "Does this story have something to do with a certain really cute, really sweet hockey player. And does this hockey player happen to have the number 99 slapped on his jersey?" Dani turned around.

"Maybe." She said as she walked passed the trio of girls, opened a cabinet, and put a large bag of flour away. Tammy nodded as Julie and Connie exchanged knowing smirks. "Guys, yes, I like Adam. But, no I won't go out with him."

"Why not?" Connie asked.

Dani looked from one girl to the next, they were all asking the very same question with their eyes. Dani placed her hand just below her neck, "This tall, my bother, goes by Caleb." Then she placed it a few inches above her head, "This tall, my brother, goes by Dean." Then she placed her hand as far as it would go, "This tall, my brother, goes by Alec!"

"We've never heard of Caleb before." Connie said, looking over to Julie.

"He's ten and he watches me like a hawk." Dani said as she sat at the island in the middle of the kitchen and placed her head in her hands, "Those three are very bad for my love life." Dani looked back up, "I need to get out, feel free to eat as many of those as you want."

"That's cool, Dan." Tammy said, "I have to get Tommy and we have to met up with our family. I guess we'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, Tam." Dani replied as Tammy ran up a flight of stairs and out of sight. Dani sighed, "How long have you two known that I liked Adam?" She smiled as Connie and Julie looked from each other to Dani.

"Well, that first practice that you sat in on. When you sat with Scooter and disclosed that Rick Riley was gay." Julie said, "You winked at Adam before you left the Rink, and Adam looked like he was about to faint." Dani let out a laugh, and Julie continued, "I don't think any one but Scooter and I noticed it. I told Connie."

"And I thought that it made perfect sense." Connie said. "I figured that that was the reason that Scooter picked Adam up after practice was over."

"He did what?" Dani asked incredulously, hoping beyond hope that Scooter hadn't done what Connie had just that he had done. She was wide-eyed and completely confused. Connie merely shrugged.

"So, Dani," Julie said, "you said that you needed to get out, so lets go." Dani got up as Julie and Connie pulled out plastic bags in the boxes that Dani had left out, and loaded them with left over cookies. "No need for these to go to waste." Julie said, as she loaded her bag. Connie nodded in agreement

"Whatever." Dani said as she grabbed one of the cookies, "So are we going or what?"

(-------)

Dani walked along with Connie and Julie until they had to met up with the rest of the Ducks in the Mess Hall for dinner. And they met some interesting and unwelcome faces along the way.

"So, how are you Portman's sister?" Julie asked when Dani agreed with her about change of the 'Anaheim Mighty Ducks' name change to just the 'Anaheim Ducks'.

"My brother and I may be twins, but we are two completely different people." Dani said as she turned around and walked and talked to them backwards, "See, I can do this and if Dean tried he would fall flat in his ass." Julie and Connie laughed. That was, until...

"Well, well, well!" A cocky voice said, causing Dani to turn around. "If it isn't the Lady Duck!" The group in front of her consisted of three boys. Connie was looking at two of them with shock and disgust. "Oh yeah." The boy said, looking towards Julie, "TWO Lady Ducks. Your brother told us that." He said to the boy that Connie didn't recognize. He nodded.

"McGill? Larson?" Connie asked indignantly. "What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Nat over here," He indicated the boy that no one recognized. "he invited us to come, and Larson and I, well, we've wanted to see Banks for a long time now." Banks? What did they want with Adam? Dani looked from Julie and Connie to the group of boys.

"Why?" Connie asked venomously. "Are you going to try and kill him again?" Now Dani was really confused. Kill? Was she being serious? What the heck was going on?

"I never wanted to kill Banks, I was just following orders and doing my job."

"Can it, McGill. You could have broken his back or his neck with what you did." Connie spat out. Julie seemed to understand what was happening, but Dani was as confused as ever, and now she was pretty mad.

"Connie?" Dani asked, "What the heck is going on?"

"Hello sweetheart." The boy called McGill said, "Why are you hanging around with rejects like these two." He waved nonchalantly in Julie's and Connie's direction. Sweetheart? Who the hell did this guy think he was? "You need to get with the big boys, like us." He indicated him and his friends. Dani played along.

"Really? Do I?" She said in a flirtatious voice. She flipped her hair and walked up to McGill, "And just what is it that you 'big boys' have they these 'rejects' don't?" McGill smiled as Dani put her arm around his shoulder. If Connie and Julie hadn't had a hint that she was just playing along, they would have been very confused and disturbed.

McGill laughed, "What do you think, Chicky?" He asked. Dani hated being called 'chick' or 'chicky'. It annoyed her to no end. But she played along and leaned in to kiss the disgusting boy. But, just before their lips touched, Dani pulled away and trust her knee between his legs. Then she did a spin kick and knocked him to the ground. Connie and Julie laughed hysterically.

"Well, you can't be that much of a big boy, because I certainly didn't feel anything." Dani retorted as McGill writhed on the ground. "Cons, Jules, I think you have dinner to get to." With that she linked arms with the two girls and waved to the boys, "Bye, boys." She said. With that the three girls walked away towards the Mess Hall.

(-------)

When Connie and Julie finally made it to the Mess Hall, they didn't bother themselves with getting school food, they decided to eat cookies for dinner. When they got the the table that the Ducks sat at (Scooter was sitting with them as well), both girls sat down and cracked up again. Everyone shot looks to them and then around the table, trying to make some sense of what the heck was the matter with their teammates. "Anyone else just a little confused?" Ken said to the occupants of the table.

"Yup." Averman replied, "I think that Cons-meister and the Cat-lady have gone crazy on us." He dug into his enchilada and accidentally flung a little piece of it at Julie.

"Ew, how do you eat that?" Julie asked as she pulled out her bag of cookies and stuffed one into her mouth, "I bet you that Dani could make those if we asked her."

"Yeah, I probably could." Dani's voice said, causing Julie and Connie, and everyone on the same side of the table to turn. Dani pulled up a chair and shoved it in between Julie's and Connie's chair. "But then again, I can make a lot of things. And hopefully they are better then school food." She put one hand into each Julie's and Connie's cookie bags and took one from each, "Well, I made them." She said to the girl's protests.

Shaking off having one of her cookies stolen, Connie said, "On, Guy, just so you know, I've become a lesbian and I will have to break up with you." Everyone stopped and Guy nearly choked on his milk, "From now on I will be dating Dani." Now it was Dean's turn to choke.

"Nu-uh!" Julie cried out, "Dani's mine!" Scooter dropped his fork with a loud clatter, "Sorry Scooter." Dani was about to burst out laughing, while the whole of the Ducks and Scooter seemed ready to pass out!

"Ladies, ladies." Dani said, soothingly, "We'll draw straws, that will be a fair and unbiased decision."

"Do I want to know?" Dean asked incredulously. He looked from Julie to Connie to Dani and back around. Dani was sure that her poor brother's head was about to explode, or implode, it didn't really matter.

"I don't think I need to answer that." Dani said, looking towards the door. She saw that boys called Nat and Larson holding McGill's arms over their shoulders, as McGill tried to walk. A smile crept on her face as the boys walked passed a familiar beefy, blond ex-enforcer. Cole went just a little bit insane. "Hiya, boys!" Dani said as they walked passed the Ducks table. Adam stiffened as he came to recognize the boys as his former Hawk teammates.

"You're a psycho chick, you know that!" McGill managed to breath out. He was gasping in pain. Cole walked up behind them in an attempt to intimidate the people at the table.

"Hey!" Dani said, "I'm not a chick! I'm a hellcat! So remember it next time and we won't have any problems. Also remember that I don't take kindly to people making mean and rude comments to and/or about my friends, which is exactly what you did, 'big boy'!" Then Dani turned attention to the boy named Nat, "Is that your bother?" She asked pointing to Cole. Nat nodded menacingly, Dani laughed to herself, "Bad, bad, bad. Wrong ethnicity people, wrong ethnicity!" Scooter, who was the only one who knew that boys name, got the joke.

"His middle name is Christopher." Scooter said when all of the boys had left the vicinity, "Not King, so you don't have to worry about that."

"I can't believe that McGill and Larson are friends with Cole's little brother!" Connie said, "I can't believe that they were here! And I can't believe you did that!" Connie said to Dani.

"Well, what can I say, I hate being called a chick. He got what was coming to him." Dani said, looking tickled pink. "Adam, that's your phone." Dani said, hearing a small buzz coming from Adam's pocket. He looked at her strangely and pulled out his phone. And... he had just gotten a text message.

Adam,

My girlfriend and my friends just got into town.

Meet me at Mickey's at 6:30 tomorrow, so that you can meet her and the guys.

Don't tell mom and dad, I want it to be a surprise.

Feel free to bring the Ducks.

Don't forget to bring an open mind, they can get a little strange sometimes.

Jamie

This little episode left Adam more confused about Dani then ever. She was defiantly a strange girl, but that somehow intrigued him even more. He had aways been up to a challenge, but he wasn't sure if he should take this one. He liked her a lot and wanted to get to know her, but he was worried about Dean's reaction. Jamie was going to be another problem, in what way was he going to try and 'help' Adam along? Yet another problem, his parents. If he had to bring an open mind to met Jamie's friends, what would his parents reactions be? Well, he was certainly going to find out. This could work out without a hitch, he hoped.


	15. Secret? Not Anymore

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(------)

**PrincessH-** Thank you. I am glad that you liked what happened with Dani, Connie, and Julie. I do try, glad it's working. Fulton will be getting a move on soon, so thanks for the encouragement. I hope you like what happens next!

**Thoughtless Drumming-** I am ecstatic that you liked what happened with the girls at the table, and when they met up with McGill and Larson. I hope that I didn't go too overboard, I just don't like them much (that's why I made them friends with Cole's little brother).

**BrokenAngle1753-** Many thanks!

(-----)

"Hi mom!" Dani called. Walking into the kitchen and see her mother at 5:30 in the morning wasn't normal, "Why are you up so early?" Dani went to the refrigerator and pulled out eggs and green and red hot peppers, "Eggs?"

"Hello. Couldn't sleep. Yes."

"Mrs. Portman?" A voice asked as the body attached descended the stairs. "What the heck are you doing up this early?" Tammy and Tommy walked up the the mother/daughter pair, "You're allowed to sleep in a little." Tammy added as she walked to the cupboard and pulled out plates and forks. "Are you okay? You look like you're a cat that got caught in the thunderstorm of all thunderstorms."

"Just a little upset is all."

"At whom, mom?" Dani asked as she cracked in egg on the side of the bowl she was using to mix the eggs with the peppers. Little did she know that she gave her mother a very evil and demented idea as she did this. But, hey, mothers can have thoughts of smashing peoples heads like eggs if they want to.

"The general public." She replied. "And work." Dani took notice of the stack of papers that her mother had to fill out and sign before sending them back to Jeannette, but there was also a familiar blue folder.

"May I?" Dani asked, indicating the folder. Her mother shook her head, and Dani reached for it. When she opened it, Dani's eyes grew to the size of two saucers, each! "Mom?" Hmm. "Did Cami draw these?" Nod. "Why would she draw maternity clothes and why would you have the drawings." Laugh. "What? I'm serious!"

"Dani, sweetie, it's not for me." Dani heaved a huge sigh of relief. "It's for Jeannette."

"Jeannette? I thought that Alan broke off the engagement four months ago." Another nod, "But that means she had to be at least four months along, unless there is something that I am unaware of."

"No, there isn't. And just so you know, she's five months along, and she keeps calling me and complaining that she is fat. That girl never grew up."

"Neither of you did." Dani replied, "Well, you didn't. If you were never married to dad you'd starve or skive off of grandpa. Our poor Alyssa Gianna." She added as she placed the peppers in the eggs. "Well, you called me by my middle name two days ago, so I called you by yours."

"I hate you two." Tammy said bluntly. "You have this great mother/daughter relationship. If I ever said some of the things that you two say to each other to my mom, my butt would be so raw I wouldn't be able to skate for a week. And, your relationship doesn't rest on how well you skate and what rank you are in the country or the world. Can you adopt me, Mrs. Portman?" Tammy said, turning with her hands clasped together in begging.

"I smell eggs!" The only other female voice in the building called down the stairs. Only one thing was different then normal, the deep south Alabama accent that was normally only scarcely noticeable, was now at the forefront of what was heard. "Yum!" Gia exclaimed as she walked over to the stove in which Dani was cooking.

"You are so Southern this morning. Getting ready for your visit to Dale's parents on Saturday?" Gia nodded as she poked at the eggs, attempting to grab some. Dani slapped her hand away. "They hate it when you talk all southern like." Dani said in a very good imitation of Gia's accent. "Mom," She said normally when a thought hit her, "What are you going to do about Jeannette and maternity leave?"

"I'm going up over Thanksgiving weekend so that I can spend it with your dad. I'll take over from there. I figure you three can keep yourselves out of trouble until I bring everyone back in December."

"I can, but when Dean finds out that _everyone_ is coming down, he's going to freak!" Dani replied.

"Why?" Tommy asked. "Does he not want your family to come or something?" Then the obvious hit him, "Wait a minute, the Olympics are in February."

"We know that, but I have to practice so my dad and brothers and grandfather and uncles are going to come here for Christmas. Me not leaving also means that Doe, Leah, and Eve are coming back as well."

"Okay, but why Thanksgiving?" Gia asked.

"My parents met on Thanksgiving. It's tradition that they spend it together, alone. My brothers and I always have Thanksgiving brunch with them and our grandfather and uncles and cousins. Then for dinner, the rest of the family goes over to my grandpa's while dad makes her something special. It's very cute." Dani concluded.

"Thank you, Danielle."

"Your welcome, mom." Dani said as she poured the pepper riddled eggs on a plate, "Dig in."

(-------)

"Portman?" Fulton asked. He sat up when the light from Dean's bedside table shined in his eyes. "What are you doing up at 6:15 in the morning?" He added looking at the clock that was blinking a gigantic, red 6:15 next to his head.

"Trying to figure out what pictures to use for that History project that I should have been working on like a good little child." Dean replied, and he wasn't being sarcastic, he was genuine! When did this side of Dean Portman come into being? Fulton got out of bed and tried to look at the pictures over Dean's shoulder. "Here." Dean said, throwing a few pictures down to the foot of his bed. "I don't have any deadly secrets hidden in them or anything."

Fulton nodded and began to look at Dean's pictures. He so frequently stopped and asked who people were that Dean stopped what he was doing and began to explain. "Wait a second, are all those of you and Dani?" Fulton asked. He was inquiring about several photos in which the occupants were sitting back to back with their legs to their chests, facing the camera.

"Yeah, that picture is kind of like our thing. Every summer since we were three we have taken the exact same picture." Dean said.

"I can tell." Fulton said, looking at all of the 'same' pictures. "How old were you here?" He asked, pointing to one of the earlier pictures.

"Five." Dean said as he looked at the picture.

"And why are you not smiling for a two year period?" Fulton said, taking in the details of the pictures. He was a great guy, but he payed way to much attention to all of the details of Dean's pictures, and it was getting annoying.

"I had braces." Dean mumbled. "I never smiled with my lips open when I was a kid, and I didn't smile at all when I had them. I got them off about a month before I met you guys." He hated braces with a passion, and now Caleb had to get them, HA! "They were about as bad as the retainer that Alec had to wear."

"Does you whole family have teeth problems or something?" Fulton asked.

"No, I don't think so. Alec had a retainer, I had braces, Caleb has to have braces, and Dani spoke with a lisp when she was little, but I don't think that Felix has any problems. But, then again, he's only two." Dean replied.

"Who are they?" Fulton asked, point to two pictures. One was of a man and a little girl and the other was of two boys and a man and a women.

"That," Dean said, pointing to the one with four people, "is Uncle Vito, my mom's oldest brother. His wife, Brooke, and sons, Sal and Ash, short for Ashley. Uncle Vito was a big fan of "Gone with the Wind", that was how Ash got his name. "Gone with the Wind" was how he and Brooke met, actually." Fulton looked over to him confused, "He was friends with Brooke's collage roommate. She knew what they had in common." Fulton shrugged, "And that is Uncle Dante, younger then Uncle Vito, older then mom. That's Sage, my cousin. Her mom died when she was six months old."

"She's cute." Fulton said.

"If she could hear you, she would probably be embarrassed." Dean said. "She's deaf, but she has gotten freakishly good at reading lips. You have to stand in front over her to talk to her. Everyone in my family knows sign-language." Fulton nodded, "She is a big believer in 'men can do what women can do and women can do what men can do', except giving birth. Sage is very vocal, even if she can't talk that well."

"Why?" Fulton asked.

"Uncle Dante is a nurse. Sage hates when men are discriminated against for having female-dominated jobs. She's a pretty good fighter too." Dean told him as he pulled out a picture of Sage in boxing paraphernalia, with a mouth piece in her mouth.

"Why does she need to be?"

"She knows that people with disabilities are much more likely to be targeted for an attack of some kind. So she figured if she would live with being deaf, she wanted kick boxing classes. Which was great, because Dani wanted them too." Dean said before looking over to the clock, "It's seven, we should get ready."

(------)

Fast forward. It was 6:00 at night as the Ducks began to leave Edan Hall for the weekend. "So, guys, don't forget. I want to come and meet Jamie's friends with me in half an hour." Adam said as he swung his bag over his shoulder.

"You just want us to be there so that you won't be alone." Dean teased, "That 'bring an open mind' comment scared you, didn't it? Admit it." Fulton and Max nodded in agreement with Dean. Adam looked incredulous at the ridiculousness of this statement.

"It did not!" Adam insisted, "The text message said that I could bring you guys if I wanted to." Nobody believed him, "You guys are hopeless. Hey, Dani." He called down that hall

"Hey, guys." Dani said as she came up to them.

"Dani?" Fulton asked, "Did you really have a lisp when you were little." Dani's eyes widened as she looked from Fulton to her brother to everyone else. She did the only thing she could think of, hit Dean repeatedly over the head with her half empty water bottle.

"Ow, Dan, what are you doing?" Dean asked as she hit him.

"You told him about that?" Dani asked acrimoniously. She was about go on when Dean reminded her that when she got really angry, the lisp came back, "I know, moron! Excuse me!" She walked away and slammed the door behind her.

"Should I not have said that?" Fulton asked. Dean shook his head as he rubbed it to make the pain go away.

(-----)

6:15. "Hi, Mrs. Conway." Adam said as he walked into Mickey's. "Could I have a cheeseburger and fries?" He asked.

"Coming up Adam." She replied. "What are you doing here? Is anyone else coming?" She asked while his food was being made.

"I don't know, I think everyone was planing on coming. I was actually waiting for Jamie to get here."

"Jamie? Your brother? The one that went to Nevada after yelling at your dad 'I hate you, I quit this family. I hope Adam has better luck with you loonies then I did'. That Jamie?" Adam nodded hesitantly. He had tried to forget that conversation between his father and his brother. To Adam's knowledge, Jamie was staying at a hotel and had yet to see his parents again. "Here you go." She said when she put his plate down in front of him.

Before he could even eat, a hand reached out and grabbed several of his fries. "Hey, little man." Adam turned and saw his brother eating his fries. "How you doing?" He asked.

"Hi, Jamie." Adam said, "I see you never learned about eating off of your own plate." Jamie laughed sarcastically. "Jamie, you remember Mrs. Conway, Charlie's mom?"

"Oh, yeah. Nice to see you again." Jamie said, smiling. It was obvious that she was in pure shock at his change. Before she could say anything, four people came into the diner. They were arguing until Jamie whistled shrilly. "Yo! Anything I can help you with?" There were three girls and one boy. Two of the girls were Asian in some way, the other was black. The boy was kind of hard to figure out.

"Dragon, man," The boy who was probably a year or so older then Jamie, "Your girlfriend over here changed my CD! This can not happen." Dragon? Well, it explains the tattoo, but that was about it. More questions were opened.

The black girl spoke, "She only changed it because your music is crap, Demon." The Asian girls agreed with her, that narrowed down who was Jamie's girlfriend. Now all Adam had to do was wait.

"Can it, Petals!"

"You can't talk to my girl that way!" The shorter of the other girls said. Her girl? Probably girlfriend by the way they had there fingers laced together. That only left the taller of the Asian girls. She was wearing a black leather corset with jeans and black boots. Her raven hair was liberally streaked with red.

"Don't fight in front of the child!" Jamie said pointing towards Adam. Child? Adam looked back at his brother sourly, then went back to his cheeseburger. "Demon, Angel, Petals, Firecracker. I would like you to meet my little brother, Adam." As he shook their hands, Adam noticed that the two girlfriends had matching rings on their fingers that would normally play home to a wedding band. How sweet. "Adam, I would like you to met my friends." Jamie said. He indicated the only other male, "Robert Kinsley, better known as 'Demon'." Adam nodded. 'Demon' was about the same height as Jamie, although he was skinnier, with a shaved head and a demon creature tattooed on the back of his forearm, looking like it was trying to claw out of his arm. He wore blue jeans and a black short sleeved tee-shirt.

"Ava Langston." The black girl introduced herself, "AKA, Petals." She was wearing a black skirt that was cut on a bias and a tight dark green halter top. She had flowers and petals tattooed from her right shoulder down to her hip. Her hair was dark brown with caramel highlights.

"Cara, Cara Li. Angel. It's nice to meet you." She had a white tub top under another top made of black mesh, blue jeans, and flip flops. All over her back and stomach she had angel wings tattooed, and she had a halo on the back of her neck. She was wearing her hair up to show it off.

"And that leaves me." The other girl, his brother's girlfriend, said, "Thalia Li."

"Firecracker?" Adam said, using the process of elimination and the fact that Thalia had a tattoo of a firecracker going of in someone's face on her left bicep. "Why did you all tattoo your nicknames on yourselves?"

"Because we could, little man." Jamie said, "So were are the Ducks?"

"We have arrived!" Charlie's voice cut through the group of collage students surrounding Adam. "Hey, Banksie."

"Man! That is not Jamie!" All of the Ducks got out of the way as Terry and Jesse walked over next to Charlie, completely shell-shocked, "He got so... so... so cool! What happened to the preppy in a button-up and slacks?" Jesse said as he stared at Jamie. "Hello, who are you?" He asked.

"Guys, this is Demon, Angel, Petals, and Firecracker." Adam said. "Apparently Jamie is now 'Dragon', you're going to have to explain to me how you got that nickname, you know that."

"Whatever, I'll tell you tomorrow when we crash your movie marathon." All the Ducks widened their eyes or smiled, "What? I may not be on the best terms with mom and dad, but that doesn't mean that I don't want to spend time with my little brother."

"Yeah, sure." Adam said, "And you want to show up before mom and dad leave for dinner and see the looks of shock on their faces when they see that their bad child really has gone bad."

"Exactly!" Adan shrugged and went back to his fries.


	16. Mother and Sister

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(------)

**Thoughtless Drumming-** Well, I am glad that you like the group of friends that I gave Jamie, I tried to make them as diverse as possible. You're right, there are a lot of people in Dean and Dani's family. But, don't worry, they will be dispersed throughout the story, not all clumped together. Actually, I think that some of them will only be mentioned in passing, I haven't decided which ones will be physically present in the coming chapters. THANKS!

**Dragon Tamer Ruth-** I try to make interesting twists that actually work in the story, I'm happy that you like what it happening.

A big THANK YOU to PrincessH, BrokenAngel1753, and mdgirl18 for their reviews!

(------)

Charlie Conway, the great blanket contortionist. At least, that's what he looked like at 7:29 in the morning on a Saturday. Not only were his blankets wrapped around his body like a cocoon, but his legs and arms and head were sticking out of them in the most interesting directions. Which brings us to 7:30.

"What the... Hey!" Charlie's alarm went off directly in his ear, causing him to shoot up and tangle himself more in his blankets. "7:30! Who set my alarm for 7:30? And I can't blame Banksie this time." With that, Charlie roughly laid his head back on his pillow and attempted to get back to sleep. And it didn't work. "Oh, for the love of..." Charlie groaned. He wasn't getting back to sleep, especially with the fact that Adam and Dani were going to be in the same dark room, watching the same movie in his head. To Charlie, the possibilities were endless.

Walking out of his room and into the kitchen, Charlie was oblivious to all that was happening around him. He opened to refrigerator, pulled out the milk, opened it, and placed the top of the plastic gallon to his lips. "Use a glass, Charlie." A voice said behind him.

"Yes, mom." Charlie said as he pulled a short glass out of the cabinet. Once he filled it, he placed the milk on the table. His mother promptly grabbed the bottle and drank all of the remaining milk directly from the bottle, "Mom, what happened to 'use a glass'?"

"Well, Charlie, I intended to finish it. You didn't." Casey retorted, looking somewhat sick.

"Mom, are you okay? You look really pale and you look like you're ready to explode." Charlie said in his protective son voice. Casey merely nodded, "Are you sure?"

"Nope." Casey said bluntly. Okay, Charlie was confused. "Charlie, I think that it's about time that I tell you something." Charlie gave her a look to go on, "Well, you see, the thing is... I'm pregnant." Charlie choked on his milk.

"Wow, that's... um... I mean... Wow." It wasn't original, but it was the only thing that Charlie had the brain power to think of at the moment.

"Charlie, are you okay?"

"I'm great." Charlie replied, "Um, does Jake know?" He asked. Casey opened her mouth to reply, and then closed it. Charlie got the gist of what she meant, "My guess is that he didn't take the news as well as I did." Charlie said, his thought conformed by his mother's reaction.

"It was just shock." Casey insisted, "Once he gets his head wrapped around the idea, it'll be better." Charlie smiled in comfort, feeling the exact opposite of what his mother believed. "I better be going." Casey said as she picked up her purse and left Charlie in stunned silence. He was going to be a big brother. Oh, boy.

(-----)

This was the time that Adam stayed out of the lower levels of his house. When all of his parent's friends conjugated at his house in order to have drinks before dinner. And it was always his house! If he went downstairs he would be bombarded with questions about school, hockey, and other things that old people worry about. "Adam?" A small voice asked through his bedroom door.

"Yes, Monica." Adam called to his 10-year-old little sister.

"Can I come in, I don't want to be around the elderly homo sapiens." Monica said said as she opened his door. 'Elderly homo sapiens', what were they teaching in the fifth grade these days? He nodded and she ran up to him and jumped on his bed with a squeal of happiness. "Did you say that Jamie was back?"

"Yes, he's going to be coming over here during the movie marathon with the Ducks." Adam replied.

"Can I stay? I want to see him again!" Monica said excitedly.

"I thought that going to Ana's sleepover was the highlight of your 'whole, entire, young life!'" Adam teased. 'Ana' was Monica's best friend Anabelle Simmons, and she was the only reason that Monica hadn't gone completely insane at her ultra-swag elementary school. Monica, unlike Adam before meeting the Ducks, never enjoyed being pampered because her parents had money, nor did she like anyone of the rich, snobby, and preppy girls at her school. Most of the girls were related to some of the people at Eden Hall, so Adam could sympathize.

"It was! But I haven't seen Jamie since before he left for collage. I want to see him again!" Monica insisted.

"Well, he should be coming before Mrs. Simmons and Ana come to get you, so I think that you should be able to see him and go over to the Simmons'." Adam said. He knew that if Monica stayed she would be miserable, so he gave her both things she wanted.

"Cool." Monica replied. The one word that made any of their parent's friends go crazy was 'cool'. Monica had learned to use it as much as possible. "So, when are they coming anyway?"

"Soon, it's only 5:45." Adam said as he looked over to his clock. "One second." He added as he picked up his phone and put it to his ear. "Hello?"

"Banksie?"

"Who else would it be, Charlie? You do know that you called _my_ line, don't you?" Adam replied to the frantic voice on the other end of the phone, "What is the matter with you?"

"Okay, look, you're a big brother. How do I do it?"

"Do what, Charlie?" Adam asked, rather confused.

"Be a big brother! How do I be a big brother?" Adam's eyes widened, confusing poor Monica even more then she already was. She pulled on Adam's sleeve and gave him a look to tell her what was going on. Adam motioned for her to stop and that he would be done in a minute.

"Charlie, man, are you saying what I think that you are saying?" Adam asked.

"That depends, what do you think I'm saying?" Charlie asked in an irritated voice. "OF COURSE I MEAN WHAT YOU THINK I'M SAYING! I'm saying that my mom just told me that she's going to have a baby! Now how do I be a big brother?"

"Um, it's something you grow into." Adam said, "I think it's different for each child, you just have to love them."

"Oh, thanks, Banksie! That was tremendous help!" Charlie let out an exasperated sigh and seemed to revert back to his normal self, "I'm sorry, man. I guess I wasn't as cool as I thought that I was with this. I mean, how does someone deal with knowing that they are going to be a big brother?"

"I can't really answer that. I was six when Monica was born." Monica perked up as she heard her name, "All I did was worry about not being the baby anymore. Ask Portman, or better yet, ask Jamie tonight."

"You're right. Thanks Banksie."

"Not a problem, Spazway." Adam said. Both hung up. "What?" Adam asked.

"How did I get into that conversation?" Monica asked. Her blue eyes were widened expectantly. She placed her blond hair behind her ear, "Well?"

"It's nothing Monica." Adam replied. Wow, Charlie Conway was going to be a big brother. Well, at the very least the kid would be lucky. Charlie was his best friend and a great guy, and even if he didn't know it yet, he would be a great brother.

* * *

**Okay, I know that it's short, but go with me here. Next chapter: Jamie sees his parents again, they meet his friends, embarrassing happenings ensue, and certain party games are played. I should be updating again soon!** **So please don't hate me!**


	17. Movies and More

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(------)

**BrokenAngel1753-** Dean Portman giving advice on how to be an older brother. Does anyone else see the irony in that? He's a big baby himself! Well, I'm glad that you agree with me, that would be some strange advice. I hope that you like what happens next!

**mdgirl18-** I always thought that Adam would make a good big brother. I'm happy that you agree! THANKS!

**Dragon Tamer Ruth-** Did I pique interest with my last author note? Well, I sure hope I did, that was the reason for putting it there! I hope that what happens meets what you had in mind as 'got to be good'.

(-----)

Adam and Monica had finally left the refuge of Adam's bedroom, only because they had to at least say something to their parents before they left for dinner. Monica was much less cooperative about this, but she followed Adam when he promised that he wouldn't ditch her and run back to the safety of his room. They made their way down the stairs as their parents and their parents friends got up to leave.

"Adam, Monica. It's nice to know that you two are still alive." Philip Banks said tartly. He never really approved of them staying away from his friends and co-workers.

"Philip!" His wife, Corrine, scolded. She was much more lenient about what her children did or didn't do when they had guests. She didn't let them raise hell, or anything of that nature, but she didn't mind if they wanted to stay out of the way.

"Hello, everybody." Adam said, knowing that Monica was going to stay silent as long as possible, "Have fun at dinner." Monica nodded.

Everyone graciously replied in some form or another. "Adam, Monica, make sure that you pick up everything in your rooms. And don't let the movie marathon get out of control, Adam. I'm trying to keep everything clean for when we see Jamie again." Corrine said as she helped her husband get into his tweed coat.

"Actually," Adam said timidly, "I've already seen Jamie." Both of his parents stopped dead, "He came over to Eden Hall the first day he was here. He was going to come over for the movie marathon."

"And you didn't tell us?" He father asked incredulously.

"Philip! He's coming over tonight?" Corrine asked. Adam nodded, "Oh, I see. Well, maybe he'll stay long enough to... What on Earth?" She finished. At that moment loud music coming from what sounded like a very expensive car stereo system lingered near the house for a moment and stopped. Everyone raced to the front of the house to see what was happening. Nosy rich people.

However, outside, Jamie's internal debate was starting to get the best of him. "Baby? What's the matter?" Thalia asked as Jamie stared at his parents house. He took a deep breath and moved to turn the car on again, Thalia stopped him, "No, if not for you, for your brother and sister. You know you've missed _them_, at the very least."

"Damn! Dragon grew up with swag written all over him."

"Shut up, Demon!" Jamie hissed as he turned in his seat and slapped his friend about the head and any other part he could reach. "I have enough to worry about." Jamie looked towards his house again, "Oh my god! I picked the day that they were going out to dinner!" Jamie sighed heavily and banged his head on the back of his chair.

"Hey, Dragon, we're here for you."

"Thanks, Petals." Jamie replied looking at the back of his BMW. Ava, Cara, and Rob were sitting there with looks of encouragement on their faces. Thalia was sitting next to him, her fingers laced with his, her newly purchased engagement ring was rubbing against his skin. "Better sooner rather then later." Jamie mumbled as he got out of his car.

"Hey Jamie!" Adam called from next to the group of rich and stuffy adults. Jamie internally smiled when he saw the looks of indignant shock that were making their way onto his father's face. His mother, however, looked ready to cry.

"Hi Adam. Mom, Dad." He said.

"Oh, Jamie!" His mother cried out as she lunged toward him and pulled him into a breath-taking hug. Literally breath-taking. As in, she was squeezing so hard that he couldn't breathe! Jamie tried to speak, but couldn't. After a few moments of tapping his mother on the shoulder, she figured it out, "Oh, sorry, son." She said.

"Jamie?" A tiny voice asked. Jamie looked behind Adam and saw Monica. _"Squirt? Man she got big! No duh, stupid. You haven't seen her since she was six!' _"Jamie!" Monica exclaimed as she ran up to him and jumped into a hug.

Once Jamie put Monica down, his father's good friend and accountant, Albert Sandage spoke up, "Well, Jamison, you have changed."

"I like to think for the better Mr. Sandage." Jamie said as politely as possible. Not exactly an easy feat, as Jamie had never liked this man, and the feeling was completely mutual. "Mom, Dad. If you have the time, I have some people with me that I would like you to meet."

"Oh, we have time!" Corrine said, Philip looked at his wife disbelievingly. "Why doesn't everyone go ahead and we meet up with them. We have to wait for Marissa and Ana, anyway." Marissa was, of course, Marissa Simmons. Mother of Monica's best friend and the 'fun' parent. No wonder Monica liked going to Ana's so much. Mrs. Simmons actually did things with the girls.

"Why not." Philip said. He was seriously trying to not freak out. "I suppose we have time. Why don't you all go ahead, we'll meet you there." Everyone nodded and went in a different direction to there respective cars. Once they were all gone Philip continued, "So who is it that you would like us to meet?"

Jamie turned to his car and beckoned all of his friends out. They came, but the girls had to do a bit of persuading of the poor soul known as Robert 'Demon' Kinsley. Persuading in the form of ear pulling and head slapping. "Mom, Dad, Monica, I want all of you to meet Robert Kinsley, Ava Langston, and Cara and Thalia Li." Thalia laced her fingers back with Jamie's. He pulled her hand up and kissed it, causing Adam to notice a big change.

"That wasn't there yesterday, was it?" Adam asked, staring directly at Thalia's engagement ring. "Or am I just going crazy?"

"No, you aren't." Thalia replied. Now the parents noticed it. "Pleasure to meet you both." Thalia said, a small smile tugging threateningly at the corners of her mouth. But she had a good reason, the look in the faces of Philip and Corrine Banks were priceless!

Jamie looked down as Monica tugged on his arm, "I like her," Monica said, indicating Thalia, "She's pretty." Thalia looked flattered.

"And I like _her_!" Thalia replied, Monica smiled, "You never told me your sister was such a sweetie." Now Monica's smile became pride.

"Monica!" A voice called from the street. Ana was sitting in her mother's Porsche, waving for Monica to join them, "Come on!" Monica ran back into the house, grabbed her overnight bag, and ran off with a goodbye for everyone, and an I love you for Adam and Jamie. Ouch, that one had to hurt the parents.

Once Monica was out of sight, Philip started up again, "I'd truly love to stay, but we have a very important dinner to get to." Philip got into his car without another word. Corrine kissed her son's on the cheek, said it was nice to meet Jamie's friends, and followed her husband to the car.

Once they were gone, Ava spoke, "They hate us, don't they, Dragon?" Everyone agreed with Ava.

"Hate? That's a strong word." Jamie said, "But probably not too strong for my dad. For mom, shocked and confused would be better terms." Then Jamie let out a little laugh, "But, honestly, I never cared what they thought."

"Yeah, we know." Adam said, "You five feel free to do anything you want until the Ducks get here, I'm taking a shower."

"Oh, yes." Jamie said, turning on the joke-meter he had in his head, "You have to get all nice and clean and kissable for Dani!" Adam stopped with his back towards Jamie for a moment and blushed before walking back into his house.

(-------)

At four, Connie and Julie had cornered Dani at Eden Hall. Now Dani was sitting in Mrs. Moreau's car, listening to Julie and Connie chatter about how Dani should sit next to Adam while they watched their movies. "Cons, Jules, what do you think will happen? Do you think that we will completely disregard the movie and passionately make-out the whole, entire time?"

"That's a thought." Connie said conspiratorially to Julie.

"Constance Jayne Moreau!" Mrs. Moreau spat out, looking at Connie in the rear-view mirror. Connie sunk into her chair and stared back at her mom. "Stay down there and shush!" Connie glared at her mom when she looked away. "Well, here we are. Have fun girls. It was nice to meet you Dani."

"It was a pleasure to meet you, as well, Mrs. Moreau." Dani replied as she, Connie, and Julie exited the car. Julie walked to the door and knocked, "When did your mom said she would pick us up, Connie?"

"11:30." Connie said when Jamie opened the door, "Hey Jamie."

"Hello, ladies." Jamie said, "Come in." He moved out of the way and allowed them to come in, "Yo! Adam, get down here!" Jamie called up the stairs. No answer, "Man, this is your movie marathon."

"Jamie," Adam called as he walked down the stairs, "if you haven't noticed, I'm a little busy!" And he sure was. When Dani, Julie, and Connie looked over in Adam's direction, they saw that he had a towel over his head and covering his eyes, and was wearing nothing but his boxers! Jamie and his friends were holding in laughter, Dani was in complete shock, and Connie and Julie were shaking their heads and laughing silently.

"We can see that, Adam." Julie said. Adam froze for a moment and then got the sense to remove his towel from his head. Then he froze again.

"Excuse me." Adam said in a breathless voice as he ran up the stairs and back into his bedroom.

Dani was still staring in the direction of Adam's bedroom. Connie noticed and put her arm around Dani's shoulder and fannedher with her hand, "Dani, did you enjoy that?"

"Yes, actually, I did." Dani replied.

(-------)

Once Adam was fully dressed, he finally made his way down to meet the Ducks, all of whom were there by that time. "So, Dan. What are _you_ going to make us watch, you sadistic little freak, you." Dean asked when everyone was sitting around the Banks' living room.

Dani smiled and pulled out a movie in a very old looking case, "John Carpenter's Vampires." Dani said with a smile. And, then there was the collective squeal of happiness from Thalia, Cara, and Ava that broadened it.

"Okay, this is going to seem weird, but I have to hug you now." Thalia said walking across the room, "Because that is my favorite movie in the entire world." Cara threw a pillow at her, "Okay, _our _favorite. I like this kid." Dani smiled even more. "So, babe, you got any movie food around here?"

"Cake-eater, you know you have tons of popcorn stashed in the highest cabinet in that snazzy kitchen of yours." Jesse said, throwing a large pillow at Adam's head and hitting him perfectly.

"You guys still call him that?" Jamie asked as Adam got up, rubbing his head, and left to get popcorn. Everyone nodded, "I still don't understand what the heck that means."

"You ain't the only one there, dear." Dani said. Jamie shrugged and turned on the television to get to the right channel. "Wait, go back!" Dani called out, Jamie obeyed.

* * *

On the television was a special on past Winter Olympic Games and the winter sports in general. By the time Jamie had gotten to the channel it was on, Figure Skating was the current topic of conversation. "Now, personally, I would have loved to see Alyssa Nazario go to the Games in the late '70's and early '80's. But that STUPID James Tobas! I hate him!" One of the host said angrily.

"He's a moron. Hey, Tobas, newsflash, there are a hell of a lot of protective men in that girl's life! You weren't getting anywhere!" Another host said to the camera. "Although, she had great taste in men. I mean, did you see who she was dating at the time?"

"Yeah, she married him." The other host said, "Still together, I think."

* * *

"Hell, yes, they are!" Dani said. She looked to Dean to shed some light on what they were watching, but he looked just as confused as Dani was. "Dean, are you as confused as yours truly?" 

"Yeah. Did mom ever mention a James Tobas to you?" Dani shook her head no, and went back to watching.

"Dude! Alyssa Nazario is your mom!" Ken said, turning in his seat to talk to Dean and Dani, "I actually meet Alyssa Nazario? One of the greatest skaters in history?"

"Why does everyone know more about our family then us?" Dean asked, exasperated.

* * *

"That stupid James Tobas is the reason that one of the greatest, if not _the _greatest, doubles skating team went down the tube. If you don't get what I mean, watch this."

The screen was taken up by a video of a doubles team on the ice. One was unmistakable, she looked just like Dani, if not a few years older. The other was a complete mystery. Together, they skated perfectly. Lifts, jumps, spins, everything was nailed. Then once the song they were skating to came to an end, they did their final move, ending in the man kissing his partner, on the ice, in front of all the spectators and judges. When he pulled away, she did not look happy. It was more of a _'What the hell just happened?' _look.

"Sad. Little bastard! You don't make-out with a women in front of that many people. Especially when she has a significant other!"

* * *

"Lucy! You got some 'splaining to do!" Dani said, eyes still glued to the television. "What the hell?"

* * *

"I loved her father's reaction!" The second host said, "He was so obviously pissed! Her brothers weren't helping matters, either. It was great." She laughed and leaned back in her chair, "I mean, her father already had a reputation for being rough. He was a member of the Italian Olympic Hockey Team in 1956. Gold metal winners." **(FYI: The Russians really won the gold in Hockey in 1956, but for the purposes of this story, I'm changing the winners to Italy. Don't hate me, Russia!).

* * *

**

"Still confused." Dean said as he watched the screen turn black, announcing the end of the show, "Why is it that Mom and Dad never told us about this James Tobas guy."

"Oh, yeah. That's brilliant." Dani said in an icy tone, "'Hey kids, just so you know, when your mother skated, she had a loony for a partner and he pissed off your grandfather and uncles by kissing your mother in front of all the spectators and judges', think Dean. How would you answer to that?"

"Okay, so why would mom not tell us how good she was? Why didn't she tell us that she could have been an Olympian?" Dean snapped back.

"She told me. And she was an Olympian, but she backed out!" Dani replied, Dean looked at her with a hurt expression on his face, "She didn't want to tell me, I came across her name on the Internet and asked her about it."

"How did you know it was her?" Max asked.

"How many Alyssa Nazario's do you know that have ever skated for the United States?" Dani asked snappishly.

"Okay," Adam's voice called from the hallway that lead to his kitchen, "I have a load of popcorn and soda and... What did I miss?" He asked once he entered the room and sensed the tension between Dani and both Dean and Max. Dani shook her head. "Okay, should we start the movie?"

"Yes!" Everyone called, hoping to have the anger leave the room.

As everyone got comfortable, Dani noticed that he had a choice of where to sit. Either next to Adam, or at the feet of Max, Fulton, and Dean. No real dilemma there! Besides, Adam had popcorn. "Ladies and gentlemen," Thalia said as Jamie pressed the 'play' button in the remote, "this movie is not for the faint of heart." Dani laughed as she sat down next to Adam and took several pieces of popcorn.

(------)

The biggest flaw that Dani possessed was the one that angered her the most. Every time that she got scared, she grabbed the nearest object, no matter what it was. This case was no exception. Dani had picked 'John Carpenter's Vampires', because she hadn't seen it in a while, so she had forgotten some parts of it. So, when a really scary scene that Dani didn't remember happened, while everyone screamed, she grabbed something. It just so happens that this time, that thing was Adam's knee! Dani flushed bright red, somewhat hidden by the darkness of the room, and looked down at her hand. Adam was looking in the same way, and he was red as well. Dani pulled her hand away, looked at Adam, and mouthed 'Sorry.', and Adam just shook his head, shaking what had happened off.

However, everyone had plenty to say when the movie was over, "Dani, I will never trust you with movies again!" Goldberg exclaimed as she took the movie back and placed it back in its case.

"I think I know something that will get our minds off of Valek." Connie said. Everyone looked at her with an expectant look on their faces, "Truth or Dare, Spin the Bottle?"

"Yeah, we'll let you kiddies do that." Jamie said as he turned from a sitting position on the couch to laying down and placed his hands behind his head.

"Kiddies?" Half the group asked.

"Yeah, kiddies. As in, if _we _joined in, it would be disturbingly wrong and almost illegal. Although, Demon, you can't get a girl our age. How about you join." Jamie said, jokingly.

"Man, I will..." Rob trailed off and began to attack Jamie. Jamie laughed as Rob began to attempt to beat him about the head. Thalia, Cara, and Ava just shook their heads.

"This is why I'm a lesbian." Cara said, "Men are so immature." Ava agreed and Thalia gave a look that implied that she agreed, "Y'all get on with your games, don't let them take away from your fun. My opinion is start with Truth or Dare and work your way to Spin the Bottle."

And they did, "I'm first," Connie said, "the game was my idea!" Everyone agreed. "Okay, Fulton, truth or dare?"

"Man!" Fulton exclaimed, "I'm always first. Fine, whatever, truth."

"Okay, how long have you had a crush on Tammy?" Fulton turned red and then shot Dani an evil look. Dani looked back and motioned for him to not blame her.

"Second grade." Fulton mumbled. There was a collective laugh about the group. "Leave me alone! Okay, next is Portman." Dean rolled his eyes and muttered truth, "Okay, dude, what is the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you. And tell the truth, or Dani will set us straight." Dean looked over to Dani, who nodded.

"Most embarrassing?" Dean stated again, "Probably when Doe grabbed my shirt and kissed me in front of the whole freakin' school!" Everyone laughed, "And then I look over and see Dani handing him 10 bucks." Dani flipped her hair. "Okay, next is Julie, truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"Okay, when will you dump Scooter and go out with me?" Dani rolled her eyes.

"Never." Julie retorted. Dani laughed, "I see our next victim has been chosen." Dani raised her eyebrows expectantly, "Dani, truth or dare?"

"Well, considering all of you are being complete babies and picking truth, I'll be an individual and pick dare." Dani smiled.

"Dare? Really?" Julie placed her hand on her chin thoughtfully, "Simple yet complicated, simple yet complicated." Julie muttered, "I got it. Kiss Adam, that'll work." Dean and Max stopped on a dime and Adam's eyes grew to the size of his face.

"Excuse us." Dean said as he and Max stood up, "We're going to get more M&M's." Terry and Jesse tried to protest, pointing to the whole bowl of M&M's next to them, if only to irritate Dean, "I know!" Dean exclaimed as he stormed out of the room, Max followed, as did Fulton.

"Baby." Dani mumbled, "What a baby." With that, Dani turned to Adam and pressed her lips to his. _'Thank you, Jules.' _Dani thought. Neither Dani nor Adam could comprehend time at the moment, but it didn't matter to them. Dani finally pulled away, if only to end the agony of her poor brother, "_Potete ritornare dentro, voi morons!_" **(Italian: You can come back in, you morons!). **Dean entered the room looking were surly. "Okay, next is Charlie." Charlie perked, "Truth or dare?"

"Dare." Charlie said with a smile.

"Dare? Hmm?" Dani said, "I dare you... to... put a whole tray of ice cubes down your pants. And keep them there until they melt." Laughs came from all around. Dani looked around as Jamie rushed into the kitchen at top speed and came back with an ice tray full of ice cubes. "You picked dare." Dani said to Charlie's incredulous expression.

Charlie grabbed the tray hesitantly and walked to the other side of the room. The cracking of ice was heard. Then, "Oh... cold! Cold." Charlie's shivers were meet with laughter and tears.

Charlie went to sit down, "No! You are not sitting on my mom's couch with wet pants!" Adam exclaimed, "You know where the bathroom is, go get a towel. A cheap one!" Charlie scowled and left the room.

"Okay, now that that unpleasant business is over with," Charlie said once he returned, "Goldie, truth or dare?" Goldberg continued to laugh and wipe tears from his eyes. "You're dead, Dani."

"Bring it on, babe." Dani said as she smiled and leaned back on the couch.

"Is anyone else bored of this?" Ken asked, "Let's do something else." Everyone agreed.

"Dani?" Connie asked

"Yes, Cons?" Dani replied.

"Right after you kneed McGill, you said that he must not be a 'big boy' because you didn't feel anything." Everyone turned their attention to Dani. Jamie had his eyebrows raised, "Were you being serious, or were you just trying to get under his skin more so then you already were?"

Dani smiled and laughed, "Honestly?" Connie nodded, "The boy had nothin'." The room was soon filled with howling laughter, "I'm being as serious as a heart attack. Nothing!" Dani made sure to enunciate every syllable of the last word to show that she wasn't joking. "So what else are we going to do?"

"Us?" Julie said, "Nothing, we have to leave." She pointed to the large grandfather clock on the other side of the room. It was 11:19. "Everyone else can watch another movie."

"Damn!" Connie exclaimed. Dani felt the same. "I am not going to sleep tonight."

"What?" Luis began, "Do you need Guy to come with and comfort you and chase away all the big bad vampires?" Everyone laughed, but not because of what Luis said. They laughed because Connie hit him in the head with the huge book of Monet paintings that belonged to Adam's mother.


	18. Fights

**Life's Full of Little Surprise**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-----)

**BrokenAngel1753-** Yes, poor Charlie. But, you're correct, it is all in the name of comedy and entertainment. I'm glad you liked, I tried to think of the worst thing that someone would dare another to do. You must admit, that would be bad.

**PrincessH-** You wouldn't expect Fulton to get embarrassed, but it just goes to show you, you can't judge a book by it's cover! Hope you like what happens next.

(-------)

Monday mornings are possibly the most evil and vile things that one would have to deal with. Well, Monday mornings and Ruth Delaney. This insanely rich and snobby fifth grader and her posse were the reason that Monica Banks dreaded school. Now, Monica was an All-A student and an all around good person, but if Ruth pushed her any farther, the Banks' would be experiencing their first call from a principle, EVER! Monica was truly ready to beat this girl to a pulp. "Hey, Ana." Monica said as she sat down in her schools cafeteria before classes began.

"Hey, Monica." Ana replied, "I've been wanting to ask you, who were you talking with when mama and I came and picked you up on Saturday?" Ana put a piece of pop tart to her mouth.

"Oh, that was my brother, Jamie." Monica replied, "He brought his friends from Nevada and he came to visit. I've been dying to see him."

"That was your brother?" Monica nodded, "Wow, defiantly different from the rest of your family." Monica nodded again with a smile creeping onto her face, "Oh, goodness, look who it is." Ana exclaimed as she looked over to the door of the cafeteria.

"Ruth!" Monica said spitefully, "What's she up to?" It didn't take long for that question to be answered. Ruth and her lackies, Maureen Jacobs and Lizzy Taylor, strutted up to the one part of the cafeteria that only the teachers and one student ever went to. "Oh, no! Becky!" Becky Orion was the one student, and no one had ever bothered to get to know her because of the fact that she was in a wheelchair. This also made her an easy target for bullies like Ruth. Quick as a whip, Ana and Monica leaped from their seats and went to the 'Forbidden Zone', as that particular area was called.

"Hello, Becky." Ruth said in a sickly sweet voice, "What are you doing in this fine morning?"

"Hi, Ruth. Hi, Maureen. Hi, Lizzy." Becky replied in a monotone voice. Was it time for her daily dose of Hell already? "I'm eating. It's not really that exciting." Becky lifted her cheerio filled spoon to her lips.

"So, leave her alone." Becky turned her head in surprise. Someone was actually standing up for her? "I mean it, Ruth."

"Banks, Simmons." Ruth said in her bitchiest voice, "What makes you think that you can boss me around?"

"I wasn't under the impression that I was bossing you around, Ruth." Monica responded in a calm and almost apathetic voice, "I just mean that Becky would probably prefer to eat her breakfast in peace, as opposed to being hounded by you and your watchdogs." Maureen and Lizzy gaped at her in mounting anger.

"Why you little..." Ruth began.

"Ah, ah, ah." Ana said, shaking a finger warningly, "You wouldn't want Mr. Zalbo to get the wrong idea, would you?" Ruth turned and saw their principle enter the chatter-filled cafeteria.

"And, Ruth, dear," Monica said, highlighting on Ruth's temporary mental incapacitation, "you can't call us little, we're about two inches taller then you. Each." Monica smiled and turned to Becky, "Hey, Becky, do you want to come and sit with us?"

"I don't know if I should." Becky said in a slightly confused voice. She knew that both Monica and Ana were nice people, but she was also rather accustomed to being a loner.

"Of course you should!" Ana replied, "We'll carry these." She added, noticing the difficultly that Becky would have bringing her food over to their table and rolling her wheelchair.

"Thanks." Becky said in an appreciative, yet still rather confused, voice.

"Don't mention it." Monica told her as she picked up Becky's cheerios. Ana waved a sassy goodbye to Ruth, Maureen, and Lizzy as they gaped indignantly at the passing trio. "I think you'll like over here better." Monica said as she placed Becky's food at the end of hers and Ana's favorite table.

"You didn't have to do that, you know." Becky said sheepishly, "I've kind of gotten used to the torment."

"Well, then you have a problem." Ana replied, "You shouldn't have to take that kind of treatment from demon spawn like them." Then something else hit her, "Becky, if you don't mind me asking, why are you in a wheelchair?"

"I was in an accident." Becky said vaguely in a nonchalant voice, "Don't worry, I'm not contagious or anything." Becky put her hand in her chin, "Ruth trying to spell 'contagious', now that would be comedy." Monica and Ana broke into hysterical laughs.

(-------)

"Come on Ducks!" Ted Orion called, "Pick up the pace!" He watched as his team scrimmage with his inner pride growing like a wild fire. No matter what he yelled, they listened, and his pride grew larger still. The new Varsity. He was sure with the right amount of hard work, they would win the state championship. Hard work. Everything in his life had become hard work. With having this job and Becky and the other personal issues he was dealing with a the moment, every little thing seemed to be magnified tenfold. If anything, he was overjoyed that he had Eric around to help again. He was a very loving uncle, and would go to the ends of the Earth for Becky, and that helped tremendously. And Eric's team seemed to light a fire under Becky's current interests as well. It was a complete shock when to him when he came home and Becky asked him about the history of the Olympics. When he asked her why, she told him that Dani had been talking about past Winter Olympics; gold metal winners and teams and controversial decisions,Tenley Albright (who ever the heck that was), and what have you. Strange girl, Dani Portman was. Then he blew his whistle, "Okay, that's it for today."

"Thank you, Coach." Goldberg exclaimed, "You're an Angel of Mercy!"

"Dude!" Dean called out, "What the hell have you been doing? You've either been between the posts or on your ass!" Everyone agreed. Well, everyone except Julie.

"Hey!" Julie called out as she skated over to the rest of her team, "You try playing goalie sometime. It isn't exactly a pleasure cruise. We do actually work." She pulled out her water bottle and to a long swig. "Brainless enforcer."

"Wait just one minute!" Fulton yelled out incredulously, "I resent that remark!"

"I was talking about him." Julie said, pointing to Dean, "I didn't mean you, Fulton. You aren't brainless."

"Oh. Okay Cat-lady." Fulton replied, "You're forgiven."

"I'm not a brainless enforcer." Dean mumbled sorely, "I can score too. So I can't be that brainless."

"Yeah, you can score." Max said sincerely as he slapped Dean on the back, "When you use your sister's plays!" He added as a joke. Dean shoved him away with a scowl.

"Your sister comes up with plays?" Orion asked with his eyebrows raised. Dani, tiny, figure skating Dani, knew how to come up with effective plays? Well, this was different. What a minute, she was related to Portman, she had to have picked up something.

"Yup." Dean said, "Her play was the reason that my older brother, Alec, got the winning shot in the Illinois High School Hockey State Championship when he was a senior." Julie raised her eyebrows at this statement. "What, Cat-lady."

"Dani told Connie and I that Alec was in his second year at the University of Illinois." Dean nodded, "So that meant that she was in the eight grade when she came up with this play." Dean nodded again. He was asking something along the lines of 'What's your point' with his eyes. "Okay, then." Was all Julie said as she stepped off of the ice. Dean rolled his eyes, women were so confusing, he learned that with Dani.

"Get in the locker room, all of you." Orion said as he stepped out of the way to let the Ducks pass. "Fifteen minutes." Once they were all in the locker room, Ted made his way to his office. Strangely enough, Dani was standing in the hall, probably waiting for Dean, "Dani?"

"Hello, sir." Dani replied.

"You don't have to call me that."

"Actually I kind of do, sir." Dani said, "You see, I can't call you 'Coach Orion', because that would get way too confusing. And I really can't think of anything else to call you. Let's just stick with 'sir' for now."

Ted laughed. Witty, she really was, "Can ask you something?"

Dani smirked, "I don't know, can you?" Orion got the joke, "Shoot, what do you want to know?"

"Well, who the heck is Tenley Albright?" Dani raised her eyebrow in confusion, "Becky said that you were talking about someone by that name, I was just wondering who she was."

"Tenley Albright was the gold metal winner for figure skating in the 1956 Olympics." Dani replied, "Before the games, she fell and her left skate cut through her right boot and scraped her bone and slashed a vein. Her dad was a surgeon and patched her up. She still won."

"You know a lot about past Olympics, don't you?"

"Yup. I've always been an Olympic history buff. Don't really know why." Dani said as she flipped her hair over her shoulder, "But the 1956 Winter Olympics is kind of my specialty." Orion raised his eyebrows in questioning, "That was the year my grandfather was in the Olympics. Hockey, Team Italy." A loud beeping broke the momentary silence, "Fabulous, more smiling and being gracious to reporters I want to throttle. If you will excuse me, I have to get ready to face the press. Evil, demonic creatures they are." Dani mumbled as she walked away.

(-------)

"Portman, man, what the heck is with you?" Max asked as Dean moodily gathered his things together.

Dean sighed, "Just thinking about that thing on winter sports that we watched over at cake-eater's house on Saturday." Max had figured that that was Dean's problem.

"Although, you have to admit, she looked good for 80's quality video." Russ said, Dean closed his eyes and then turned while opening them.

"Dude, that was my mom." Dean retorted in a voice that implied that he was going to kill Russ very soon, "Don't ever say that again or your death will be quite painful." Russ backed off holding his hands up in surrender. "Cake-eater, pick up your phone, it's getting annoying." He finished. Everyone agreed; Adam's phone, which had been going off for that past five minutes, was seriously getting irritating.

"Chill, guys." Adam said as he exited the shower, "Hello?"

"Adam?"

"Monica? What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"No, I'm fine. It's just that... Well, we're over at Aunt Lisa's and Jamie is over here too and he and dad are going to start going at it soon, I can tell, it's just like before. Can you come over here for a little while?" Monica said, close to tears of anger, "Just until they stop. Please."

Adam sighed heavily. Jamie and his dad could never keep their arguments away from Monica. It extremely pissed him off, she was only ten! "Sure, baby-girl, I'll be over there in a second. How about I take you Mickey's until it's over."

"Please."

"I'll be right there." Monica thanked him and hung up. Adam sighed heavily again and unceremoniously stuffed all of his belongings into his hockey bag. "I'll see you guys later. I have a problem to deal with."

"Another problem." Charlie said, "How are you going to get Monica? You can't drive yet, and it's like an hour to your house."

"Well, then it's a good thing that Monica isn't at my house." Charlie looked confused, "She's with my parents at my Aunt Lisa's." Charlie's confusion deepened, Adam didn't have an Aunt Lisa. "She's my godmother and she lives about five minutes away from here if you walk. Monica probably didn't want to walk alone, what with all the kidnapping stories that my parents keep reciting. I'll see you later." Adam slung his bag over his shoulder and ran to his dorm room. From there he threw his bag on his bed and ran to his Aunt Lisa's.

(------)

Adam had kept his promise, he picked Monica up at his Aunt Lisa's and he had taken her to Mickey's. But that was then, and now he was taking Monica to his house for the night. However, Jamie's fight with their dad had transitioned from Lisa's to their own house. Monica and Adam stood in the shadows, behind the door that led to their kitchen, "What is your problem?" Jamie asked angrily, "Why do you hate them so much?"

"Just look what they have done to you!" Philip Banks shot back, "Tattoos and those clothes and..."

"My clothes! That's your problem?" Jamie yelled, "Here's a memo dad. These clothes, this attitude that you hate so much. It all happened before I even met Thalia, Cara, Ava, or Rob! This came from me being able to pick out what I wanted to wear without having to worry about your criticism!"

"You ungrateful little..." Philip yelled back, "I criticized because I cared about how you were perceived! I cared!"

"Philip!" Corrine Banks broke through

"You only cared about what other people thought. All I was to you was something that made _you _look bad! You never cared about me as a son!" Jamie replied lividly, "I don't care about what people think about me!" Than Jamie added an afterthought, "And you never cared about Adam as a son until that freak Reilly had Adam's own former teammate and best friend smash him into that goalpost!"

"Don't you tell me what I feel about my own children!"

"But, you know what, I don't care!" Jamie continued as if there had been no interruption, "I don't even see why I thought that things would be different when you had gotten to know the Ducks. Everything about me doesn't fit into your perfect 1950's world. Don't even bother coming to my wedding." A distinct gasp of hurt escaped Corrine's lips. "I'm leaving tomorrow, that should make you happy."

Adam saw the look of sadness on Monica's face reach an all time high, "NO!" She called out and ran into the kitchen and jumped into Jamie's arms, "Don't leave Jamie! Please stay!"

"Honey bear." Jamie replied softly as Monica held onto him, "I have to go back to Nevada and get back to collage."

"Yeah, but after that, you won't ever come back." Monica hugged him tightly.

"Jamie, please take your sister to bed." Corrine said, "Would you mind?" Jamie shook his head no, switched Monica to his back, and walked out towards the stairs. Once Jamie and Monica passed him, Adam followed.

"Hey, squirt, honey bear, it's okay." Jamie said, trying to sooth Monica. He placed her on her bed and stroked her hair, "I'll always be here for you." He wiped a tear from her cheek, "You too, little man!" Jamie called through Monica's door. Adam walked in and close the door behind him, "I want both of you to know that you have to keep your summer at least a little open."

"Why?" Adam asked.

"Well, I first of all, I need a best man." Jamie replied as he pushed Adam onto Monica's bed, "And secondly, I need someone to keep this little trouble maker in line." He added to Monica. "Look, I want you two to be there. And feel free to bring a date." Jamie added, winking at Adam. Adam rolled his eyes. "I have to go. I'll see you both later." Monica said goodbye and Adam followed Jamie out of his room, "If you don't ask Dani out soon, I will have failed as a big brother." Jamie added before walking out the front door and slamming it closed.

"Well, he's gone." Adam heard his father say in the kitchen. "Corrine, dear, you don't have to do that." Adam looked in the kitchen, trying not to be seen, and saw his mother was reorganizing the leftovers in the refrigerator.

"Well, what else can I do to keep my mind off of the fact that I'm not invited to my own son's wedding." Corrine said in an attempt to sound not too angry.

"Corrine, don't worry about it."

"Don't worry about it!" Corrine said in shock, "This is our son and his wedding that we are talking about." She dropped a metal object that sent a loud clang through the house, "Philip, I love you, and that is why I am finally saying this. You aren't right about everything all the time! The only times that you have ever realized that was when something drastic has happened."

"Corrine, what are you talking about?" Philip asked in an exasperated tone.

"Adam and the goalpost! That scare with Monica a few years back! Need I go on?" Monica's scare had been when Philip was trying to get her into shopping with her mother. Monica had been so bored that she wandered away, causing her mother to panic. Monica never went shopping again, unless it was completely necessary. "Philip, please, I don't want to lose my son again. Talk to him."

"The boy doesn't want to talk! He's completely irrational!" Philip replied, "And you make it sound as if it is my fault that Jamie is that way."

"Well, dear, the apple doesn't all far from the tree." Corrine responded, "You were never exactly son of the year." Philip made to protest, "What is the only reason that you didn't want Adam to go to Eden Hall?" Philip sighed, but Adam closed the door all of the way but pressed his ear to it, "Come on, Philip, it's an easy question."

"Tom Reily." Philip finally said defeated. Adam was shocked. Tom Reily, Rick Reily's father and reason that the Ducks nearly lost their scholarships, had history with his dad!

"Exactly!" Corrine said, "Tom Reily. Your high school nemesis. Rival schools, rival everything. Be it, hockey, football, baseball, basketball, anything, you two were in the thick of it! That didn't make _your _father all that happy, but you got into fights and played pranks anyway." Adam's eyes grew. His dad was a prankster? Since when?

"Corrine, that's all in the past."

"And so is what happened with Jamie. Talk to him or in the end, I promise you, you will regret it!"

"Are you implying that it is my fault that Jamie is so estranged from us?"

"I wasn't saying that. But now that I think about it, yes." Adam's jaw dropped, "Philip, I _do _blame you for pushing Jamie out the door. But I blame myself even more for not pulling him back in. I want to know our son, I want to know his future wife, and most importantly, I want to know our grandchildren when they come along. Jamie knows that I love him, and I will try to keep in contact with him. The question is, does he matter to you." Philip tried to talk, but nothing came out, "I'm going to bed. Please try to be quiet when you come up." Adam stood up and walked out the door.

The sky had long since become dark, but Adam didn't care. Rain was falling lightly, but quickly gaining speed. Adam walked back towards Eden Hall with out caring about anything, especially if he was going to get back in time for curfew. He just thought. His dad had known Tom Reily and had had a feud with him. He, Adam Banks, had almost not gone to the preppiest school around because of it. Terry and Jesse would never believe that! But mostly, Adam thought about the fact that his mother and father had had a fight. They never fought; they were the freaking Cleavers! Oh, well, at least he knew that no body had a perfect life. His family was the evidence of that.


	19. Mamma Mia!

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**Lilmonkey1507-** Jamie's friends are a combination of several of my friends, with the addition of tattoos. They sound like friends of your cousin? What a coincidence. From the very first movie, it's obvious that Adam's dad is really, really stubborn, I just wanted to exploit that fact. I thank you and your friends!

And I would like to extend thanks where else thanks is due. That being said, THANK YOU PrincessH and BrokenAngel1753 for your reviews!

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Well, it was Thursday. A full four days since Monica and Ana had first asked Becky to join them at their favorite table, and everyday since, they continued with their request. Becky had to admit, it was nice to have people her own age to talk to. "Becky, baby, wake up. It's time for school." Becky groaned as her dad shook her shoulder as she laid in bed. "Come on, honey."

Becky sat up, "Sure, daddy." She ran her hand through her hair and pushed her legs so that they hung off of the side of her bed. Ted was surprised. The past couple of days had been so strange, in a good way. He didn't have to force Becky out of her bed and into her wheelchair, she seemed happier. Ted and Becky simultaneously leaned over to the phone that was ringing on Becky's bedside table and read the name on the Caller ID. _Adam Banks_? What the Hell! "Monica?" Becky questioned as she picked up the phone, "Monica? What are you calling me at seven in the morning for?" Ted was baffled. Who was Monica?

"Hi, Becky." Monica replied.

"Becky! I'm here too!" Ana called out really loud, in order to get attention. She called out so loud, in fact, that Ted heard every last syllable of the girl's squeal. Who were these people and why had Becky never told him about them.

"Hi, Ana." Becky responded when she placed the phone back to her ear. "Monica, why are you using your brother's private phone line?" Ted blinked. What, exactly, was going on?

"Well, with him at school and me not wanting to call from the kitchen or living room, I figured that what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him." Monica said as Becky nodded in agreement, "But Ana and I called you to tell you that you need to turn on channel 3, right now!"

"Oh, okay, hold on a second." Becky replied as she reached over her bedside table and picked up the remote to her television. Yeah, she had a phone and a t.v. in room. Her dad did tend to spoil her sometimes, but she never took advantage of that fact like other people she knew would. She pressed the 'on' button and then the '0' and '3' buttons. Becky smiled the most startled smile that anyone could ever smile. Her school was closed, "Wow, Mr. Zalbo and Ms. Tenner don't look all that happy!" On her television screen was her principle and her superintendent, both looking deeply distressed, "Did anyone say why we get out?"

"Yeah." Ana replied, "That storm last night knocked out the power. Talk about a stroke of luck, I am a complete psychic."

"What!" Monica exclaimed.

"I knew that something good was going to happen! I just knew it!" Ana replied. "I had a feeling."

"Yeah, sure." Monica said sarcastically, "And I bet that Becky is a psychic too because she knew that I was calling!"

"No. she probably has Caller ID." Ana said wisely.

"No duh, stupid!"

Becky chuckled, "You two are so weird."

"Thank you!" They both exclaimed. Becky smiled, causing Ted to smile. Whoever these girls were, they made his daughter smile, and that was the bigger and more important picture here.

"Well, I have to go." Monica said, "If mom and dad find me in Adam's room, they'll get really mad. I'm not suppose to be here if he isn't with me."

"I should get going too." Ana added.

"Well, then I guess that I will see you both at school tomorrow." Becky said, "Bye." They replied and hung up. The downside of getting out of school was hitting her like a ton of bricks. She was going to have to spend the whole day at Eden Hall with her dad. Sure, she would get to see her uncle and his team, but she wasn't sure that she would have as much fun without people her own age.

(-------)

"_Yeah, that figure skater looks like she would be a wild ride." _Those words, spoken by former varsity member Jerry Tubs, rang in Adam's ears. He had been walking passed them when he heard that unpleasant conversation between his former teammates, a big emphasis on 'former'. When Adam looked in the direction of their gazes to see what they had been talking about, he saw Dani. Who the HELL did they think they were? So, he snapped and ended up getting into a fight with the lovely Tubs, who was close to an Adam and a half in hight and two and a half Adam's in weight. By the time that Scooter showed up and got the fight settled down by warning them that the Dean was coming, Adam had a split lip and bruises on his cheek, arms, and stomach. Tubs had a bloody nose and black eye, who knew that the cake-eater had it in him. "What the hell were you thinking?" Dani asked when she brought a bag of ice over. She had been shocked when Scooter had dragged a very uncooperative Adam passed her.

"Nothing." Adam said truthfully. He hadn't really been thinking anything, he just seemed to lose control when Tubs had made that horrible remark about Dani, not that he told her any of this. "Dani, thanks for the ice, but I have to get to practice." He said as he stood up and walked away. Dani sighed and Scooter tried, and failed, to suppress a snort of laughter.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Scooter replied, "It's just that you two are so 'perfect-high-school-couple' in a way." Dani raised her eyebrows, "Well, you would be if the perfect high school couple was made up of one of the preppiest guys around and the anti-prep."

"We aren't dating, so we can't be 'perfect-high-school-couple'." Dani retorted.

"Well, yeah, that's unfortunate."

Dani sighed and shook her head, "I have to get back to class. See you around Scooter." Dani stood up and said, "I hear that Rick Reily is on campus. You watch that pretty little backside of yours, stud."

Scooter decided to make a joke of everything, "You think it's pretty?" He asked as he turned his head and looked down. Dani let out a laugh and slapped her forehead. "See you, Dani."

As Dani walked down the hall, she saw Becky, not surprising, and two other girls, one blond, one red head, that looked around Becky's age, "Becky dear?" Dani called down the hall, getting the attention of the three girls.

"Hi Dani!" She replied happily, "Monica, Ana, I would like you to meet Dani Portman. She's a member of my uncle's team. Dani this is Monica Banks and Anabelle Simmons."

"Banks?" Dani asked, "Any relation to Adam?"

"He's my brother." Monica said pridefully. Dani nodded, she didn't know that Adam had a sister, "It's nice to meet you, Becky has told us a lot." Ana nodded in agreement.

"Is that so. Well, I guess I should be flattered. It's nice to meet both of you." Dani replied, "I would love to stick around, but I have to go to class. But before I do, Becky, why weren't you in school today?"

Monica, Becky, and Ana exchanged wide smiles, "We got out today." Becky told her, "That bad storm knocked out the power." Dani nodded to acknowledge that she understood and then waved goodbye and left to go to her class. "I told you she was the coolest teenager in the whole world."

"Yeah, I like her." Monica replied, "Although, I think that I overheard Charlie, Terry, and Jesse say something about her to Adam. Or it might be a coincidence."

"What did they say?" Ana asked. She would be the first to admit that she was a huge fan of the grapevine, "Come on, Monica. Don't leave us in suspense here!" Monica sighed, "Please!"

"Okay." Monica said, "Charlie said that if Adam didn't grow a spine and ask Dani out soon, then he, Terry, and Jesse would have to shoot him. They seemed really, really irritated."

"Yeah, well..." Ana began.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Adam's shocked voice called from the ice below them. Monica rolled her eyes and didn't respond, "Monica! I'm serious, what are you doing here?"

"I was out of school today, stupid, and I came to see Becky." Becky nodded and waved. Adam opened his mouth to speak again, "Ana and I got a ride from Mrs. Simmons, it's not like we walked here or anything."

"Becky?"

"Hi Daddy!" Becky replied as he father skated over to the edge of the ice, next to Adam, "Please continue. We'll just watch and plot wonderful ideas that would give a certain someone a taste of their own medicine."

Ted's eyes grew, "Rebekah!"

Becky put her hands up in a surrender, "I was just kidding, daddy." Becky replied. Ted turned and went back to his team. Children were complicated sometimes, but at least he only had one, he couldn't imagine having any more then that.

(-------)

"Hello Alyssa." Casey Conway said as she sat down in the booth that Alyssa had taken as her own in Mickey's, "You remember Corrine Banks, correct." Alyssa nodded and shook her hand.

"Pleasure to see you again."

"The pleasure is mine." Corrine replied. "What are you doing?" She added as she looked at the large stack of papers that Alyssa had put off having to sign.

"I have to sign these for work. It isn't enjoyable." She said as she turned over the page she had been working on and mumbled, "One down, two hundred and ninety-four to go."

"Oh, joy. Papers." Another voice added. Alyssa looked up and saw a women of average hight with black hair and bright red nails looking piteously at the papers, "Bethany. Bethany Reed." She said as she extended her hand.

"Fulton's mother." Alyssa said as she took Bethany's hand. "I have heard good things about you and your son." Bethany looked flattered and sat down with another glance at Alyssa's stack of paperwork.

"G.N?" She asked when she saw the initials between Alyssa's first and last names.

"Gianna Nazario." Alyssa specified, "My middle and maiden names. I always sign everything with both."

"Wait a minute." Corrine said, "Alyssa Nazario?" Alyssa nodded, "That sound immensely familiar. Why would that be?" Alyssa sighed and put her pen on the table. She really didn't want to reminisce about her skating years, but they were the only way that anyone would recognize her name. A lot of things happened when she skated that she just wished that she could forget.

"Well, it would if you were a fan of skating in the mid 70's to the early 80's." Alyssa disclosed. "I skated then. Doubles."

"Hi mom." A voice said as arms wrapped themselves around Alyssa's shoulders. "_Che cosa state facendo?_" **(Italian: What are you doing?)**

"_Ciao, il mio bella._" Alyssa said to Dani. **(Italian: Hello, my beautiful.)**. "_Cose diaboliche che non dovete conoscere alla vostra età giovane._" **(Italian: Evil things that you don't need to know of at your young age.). **Dani smiled and shook her head.

"Hello Mrs. Conway, Mrs. Banks." Dani said politely. Then she looked over to Mrs. Reed and was completely lost.

"Dani, this is Mrs. Reed."

"Oh, it's a pleasure to meet you." Dani said, silently cursing her dreadful luck. Alyssa noticed the change in her daughter and questioned Dani with her eyes, "Yes my loving and caring mother?"

"What did you do?"

"What makes you think I did anything. Oh, greatest mother in the world?" Dani asked, trying to stay positive.

"That." Alyssa replied simply. Dani didn't say anything, but Alyssa go her answer when she saw Fulton and Dean enter the diner, with Fulton holding his forehead in his hands, "Danielle Melita! Please tell me you didn't."

"Um..." Dani said. Alyssa sighed and held her head in her left hand while her elbow was on the table. "Hi Fulton, hi Dean."

"I'll give you this," Fulton said, "you have one hell of an arm."

"Fulton!"

"Sorry mom. You have one _heck _of an arm." Fulton corrected himself, " And you were right, Portman, those apples are painful if they are thrown right." Dani shivered in fear inside as he mother raised her head to look at her.

"Okay, wait a second." Dani said, "Let's hear my side of the story." Alyssa motioned for Dani to continue. "Okay, look Fulton. You like her, she likes you. If you don't ask her out soon, she is going to explode. Not to mention her teammates, namely me, are going to go insane! I don't like that fact that she is old-fashioned any more then you do, deal with it!"

"Thanks for the motivational speech, Dani."

"Your welcome, Fulton." Dani replied sarcastically. "Hi Tammy." Dani called across the diner.

"Hi guys." Tammy replied as she walked over to the booth, "Mrs. Portman, Mrs. Banks, Mrs. Conway, Mrs. Reed. Jeez, what is this, a garden party or something. So many 'Mrs.'." Everyone laughed, "Dani, I hope you don't mind, I borrowed this." She pulled out a CD in a thin, clear, almost circular case.

"My mix?" Dani asked as she looked at the CD in the case, "Papa Roach, Disturbed, and System of A Down." She recited as she looked up at Tammy.

"Yeah, I enjoyed it." Dani's eyes widened, "But that's not why I'm here. Coach said that he wanted us to come back to Eden Hall and go over the choreography for our routines again. Although he seems a little frazzled."

"Why so?"

"Something about an eccentric and neurotic Russian by the name Ilia-Svetlana Varlaam has been on his case about something." Dani shook her head and gazed over to her mother and brother.

"Let it out, guys." Dani instructed and they both began to laugh adding much confusion to the mix. "Ilia-Svetlana was my first coach after my lovely mother. I forgot that she had moved here. Uh-oh." Dani sighed, "We had better go, I think that she'll probably make coach go insane. Lead on!" Tammy walked towards that door, but Dani stopped and said in little more then an whisper, "She likes my music now. Good job so far!" And she patted Fulton on the head and walked away.

"If you all will excuse me, I have to go find the deepest hole I can, crawl in it, and die." Fulton said as he walked away.

"I'll make sure he doesn't do the dying part." Dean said as he began to rush out after the retreating back or his friend, "But, mom, when I see you next, remind me that I have something to ask you." Alyssa nodded and gave a mock salute with only two of her fingers. "Thanks." Dean replied and ran off to make sure that his best friend didn't do anything too drastic.

"I'm going to get him." Bethany began after Dean had left sight completely, "I liked her when she was on the hockey team. I think he should follow Dani's advice."


	20. Stranger Inside

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**PrincessH-** Yes, Fulton the little procrastinator. Doesn't he get infuriating sometimes? I'm glad that you aren't really going nuts, and I hope that you enjoy what happens next. And I mean I REALLY hope you enjoy what happens next. But if you don't want to, that's okay. Gotta love free will!

Thank you to MuM YoU'lL bE mY gUaRdIaN aNgEl In ThE sKy WaTcHiNg OvEr Me YoUr PoOnChKa for her review and honesty. Love honesty, it's a good thing. Be honest!

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Friday. A day that is suppose to mean freedom from school and a time to just lounge around. To the Ducks, however, Friday meant getting ready for their game against Blake. But whatever they had on their minds, was nothing compared to Dani.

First of all, there was Scooter's ex-girlfriend and Cole's current girlfriend, Abigail Johanson. Man that bitch pissed Dani off to the nth degree. The thing was that Dani felt Julie quickly becoming her friend, and if you mess with a friend of the hellcat's, be prepared to get scratched. At least that what everyone in Chicago learned. Abigail had actually cornered Julie after hockey practice on Wednesday and said, _"I'm only dating Cole until Scooter is ready to join the big leagues again. And then, he'll come running back to me!" _Who the fuck did she think she was? Then there was the fact that Dani was alone, more-so then she had been. Her mother had rushed off to Chicago two months early without any kind of warning. Thank god for her Uncle Dante, he told her what was going on, and now Dani was close to losing it. Seriously losing it.

"Oh, look who it is." A mousy, high pitched said as Dani walked down the hall with her CD player in her pocket and her one earphones attached to her shirt while the other was in her ear, blasting Shinedown. "The sister to the Bash Brother and friend to the worthless cat." Did Abigail know who she was talking to?

"Yeah, I am." Dani replied stoically, "So, now that we have cleared that up, will you excuse me, It's _muy importante _that find my brother." Dani walked forward, but Abigail had put her hand on the wall, blocking Dani's way, "Anything else that I can help you with? Think hard now." Dani said sarcastically.

"How on earth were you and your brother spawned?" Dani raised her eyebrows, "What horrid creature did your mother have to get with, or the only one she could, to have you both." THAT WAS IT! No one, and she meant no one, could say that about her dad!

"You bitch." Dani said quietly before breaking her self-promise to not hit anyone else that she didn't know, but she didn't care. Dani lunged at Abigail with the full weight of her 5 foot 2 inch frame. Her punches to Abigail's face were what one would defiantly not expect if they didn't know her. Hard and fast.

"Dani!" A distant voice called, "Dani get off of her!" Two pairs of hand grasped her arms and pulled her away. The strong hands struggled to keep a hold of Dani's tiny arms. "Dani, calm down." The voice said as the hands lead her through a door.

"Okay, I'm fine." Dani yelled, tense and irritated and jumpy. Dani was always a little confused and jumpy after she lost control, "Get off of me!" She looked to her left and right and saw Charlie and Adam. They had led her into a room where the Ducks were stretching before they went to their locker room. Scooter was there, as were Terry and Jesse.

"Um... Why were you trying to break Abigail Johanson's face?" Adam asked timidly. He had never seen Dani that angry, and he was sure that he didn't want to see it again.

"HA!" Julie laughed, "Too bad it wasn't me!" Dani nodded. She had come up to Julie right after Abigail had confronted her and she had calmed Julie down. Now it was Dani that needed the calming down; funny how things work.

"Because no one says what that bitch did about my dad!" Then she turned back to Julie, "It was very gratifying." Dani replied stoically, "You should try it sometime." Julie smiled while Scooter looked very confused, what was going on that he didn't know? Dani was about to continue, but she was cut off by Fulton coming into the room, dancing what looked like a mix of the Cabbage Patch and a Charlie Brown. "Dude? What are you doing?"

"Success!" He called out, pumping his fists in the air, "I finally asked her out!"

"Thank you!" Dani exclaimed. Most of the Ducks were a little perplexed because only a few of them knew about that current Fulton/Tammy situation that was making Dani go slightly insane. "It's about time!" She rushed over to Fulton and hugged him, but stopped when she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Mine." Tammy said simply as she pointed to herself. Dani back away with her hands in the air.

"Dean," Dani said as she turned around, "I have to talk to you after the game tonight."

"Talk to me now."

"I can't." Dean looked baffled, "Just trust me on this. I'll see you after the game." Dani replied as she placed both of her earphones in her ears and hummed along to one of her favorite songs, '45', and left.

(-------)

To say that Dean a somewhat confused was in understatement. Not about the game, they were up 9-2, but Dani had been so cryptic; she was never cryptic! He looked out into the crowd and saw her sitting just behind the penalty box, alone. Where was his mom? She had promised that she would come to the Blake game, and she never backed down on promises. Dean turned his attention back to the game just in time to see Adam checked, hard, into the boards. Ow, that had to hurt. "What is he doing?" Dean asked as Adam went after the person that had checked him. "Never mind." Dean laughed. He wasn't _completely_ surprised after Adam engaged in a fight with the kid, considering he had been checking Adam and Connie left and right throughout the entire game.

"Banks?" Orion asked as Adam was sent to the penalty box. It was amazing, cake-eater was actually human and could get sent to the penalty box! Well, the game was 4-on-4 for the moment, but that was about to change, "Wu!" Orion sighed as Kenny was sent to the penalty box as well for a bogus hooking call.

"He dived!" Kenny argued.

"Wu, get into the box!" Orion yelled, thoroughly exasperated. Kenny did as he was told and sat down next to Adam with a huff.

"This is getting ridiculous." Kenny said angrily. Adam nodded in agreement. "Did you see your dad's face when you got sent to the box?" He asked. Adam nodded again, it was priceless. His father was the first person he looked for after the call, and it was really funny. Wide-eyed and gaping mouthed, and Adam was sure that some drool had been making it's way out of the corner of his father's mouth. A knock on the glass brought him out of his thoughts.

"Dani?" Adam asked in a whisper. She placed a small pad of paper to the glass that read:

Ken, Adam,

Ask Max and Dean about Rough and Tumble 25!

"What's Rough and Tumble 25?" Ken asked, looking as confused as Adam felt at the moment. Dani sighed, turned the sheet over, and wrote more on the next sheet. She lifted to the glass again:

JUST ASK!

Ken put his hands up as the time buzzer went off. Adam and Ken made their way from the penalty box, back to the locker room with the rest of their team. When they got to the room, Orion spoke, "I just have to get over the shock of seeing _you_ sent to the penalty box."

"I know, our little cake-eater is getting so violent! First he was in a fight yesterday, and now the box!" Dean said in a mock-parent voice. He put his arm around Fulton's shoulder, "We have taught him so well."

"Here's a question." Adam retorted, "What the hell is Rough and Tumble 25?" Dean and Max stopped dead, their eyes grew, and they started laughing. "What the..."

"I love your sister." Max said to Dean, "How long has it been since I told her that?"

"Two hours, but who's counting?" Dean replied before turning back to a bewildered looking Adam and Kenny. "Rough and Tumble 25 is the name of one of the plays that she came up with." Then he turned to his coach, "It might come in handy."

"Tell all about it." Orion said, his interest genuinely piqued, "I'm open to any and all suggestions." Dean smiled as he took the marker and broad from Orion's hands and began to explain.

(------)

"Alright," Orion said to his team, "Portman, Newmen, Reed, Banks, Moreau. You five are going in, and I think that we should try out our new play." Dean smiled, and it was good that Connie was going in as well. Girls were always gratified in Dani's plays. "Let's go!" Dean and Fulton liked this particular play because they got to hit a lot of people.

Adam took the face off, and captured it. With the tension of the Ducks on his shoulders, he skated towards Blake's goal, but confused the latter team when he began to skate backwards, behind his goal, and passed to Connie. She began to skate towards the other teams goal as Dean and Fulton crashed into opposing team members. Max was right where he was suppose to be, on the other side of the rink, behind her. Praying that her gamble worked, Connie shot the puck towards where Max would end up. He caught it, after flying out of nowhere, skated towards the Blake goal, faked a shot on one side, skated around the goal and got the shot in that side. 11-2. End score when the time buzzer went off about .5 seconds later. Ducks fans were cheering maniacally, while everyone from Blake was confused, what had just happened?

The Ducks went back to their locker room, cheering. After showering and changing and hearing a lecture about the pros and cons of their performance and how their coach expected them to be ready for their practice on Monday, they walked into the hallway to see all of the in-state Ducks parents (minus Max's, thanks god!) and Dean Buckley waiting for them. "Ted, wonderful game. Did you come up with that last play all by yourself?"

"No, Dean." Orion said, "I didn't come up with it at all in fact."

"Then who did?" Dean Buckley asked befuddled.

Orion smiled, "A figure skater."

"Hey! Wait one minute!" Dani voice called from behind the crowd of parents, "Figure skating, hockey, and speed skating. I do all three, but figure skating more so. Obviously."

"Yeah, because your a little freak." Dean said jokingly.

Dani smiled and bowed, "At your service, _il mio padrone._" **(Italian: my master.)**

"Master," Dean said conspiratorially, "_Lo gradisco_." **(Italian: I like it.)**

"Don't even think about it!" Dani replied.

"Dan, what did you want to talk to me about?" Dean asked.

"Oh," Dani replied, suddenly losing her happy demeanor. "Dean, that's something that we need to talk about _in riservato." _**(Italian: in private.)** Dean nodded, "If you guys don't mind, I'm going to steal him for a minute." She added, grabbing the front of Dean's shirt and pulling him away.

Dani pulled him into the room that she and her fellow figure skaters used as a classroom. When she closed the door, she did what Dean didn't expect. She burst into tears. "Dan? Dani-girl? What's the matter?" He asked as Dani hugged him and began to sob into his chest. "Dani?"

She pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes. Through her sobs Dani said, "Mom rushed off to Chicago this morning. I wasn't sure why so I called Uncle Dante and asked him." Dean gave her a look that asked her to go on. Dani stopped for a second, the she said, "Dad got shot." Hello! Ton of bricks! "He's in ICU and they don't know if he's going to make it." Dean felt his throat close and tears well up in his eyes. But he couldn't cry!

"Dan, are you sure."

"Yeah, Leah told me too. It happened when she was in his class yesterday."

"It was at school?" Dean asked incredulously.

"Yup. You remember Jeric Lovelet?" Dean nodded, "Well, it was him. I think that Leah said that he came into the class and pulled out the gun, and that Dad tried to calm him down because he was completely erratic. Then, once it happened, he was panicking because he said that he thought that the bullets were blanks!" Dani began to cough, but regained her composure, "Apparently his dad was put in jail for writing bad checks."

"Dan, it's okay." Dean said, trying to convince himself as well, "You know dad, he's a fighter. No one could have lived with Benita and Louis without going psycho and not be one. But look at what else he's been through. He survived then and he'll survive now." Dani nodded, "Look, Dan, you're really upset. You need to try and get some rest, I'll talk to you in the morning."

Dean and Dani walked to the exit of the building and they went in different directions after giving each other on last hug, "Dude!" Fulton called from the parking lot, "Are you coming or what?"

"I don't think so." Dean responded. Fulton furrowed his eyebrows, "With what Dani just told me, I think that I should stay here tonight. You go to the celebration, I don't really feel like it."

"Woah, what did Dani say that was so horrible?" Fulton asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Dean replied, "Look, man. I promise I'll tell you later, but now is not a good time." Fulton agreed and left. Dean sighed as he made his way back to his dorm room.

(-------)

Once Dean got to his dorm room, he did the very first thing that he could think of, he pulled out a CD and began to sing along. Considering his mother had made all of her children get voice lessons, he was actually very good. Not that he would disclose that bit of information to the Ducks.

The CD: Leave a Whisper. The Artist: Shinedown. The current song: Lost Inside.

This day could be the worst one yet  
I just won't relax I can't catch my breath  
Because I'm sick and tired of you'll be fine  
Well how do you know, can you read minds

So take while you can so you can meet demands  
My insanity is what you thrive on  
So rip it from my soul, so everyone will know in the end  
We were never friends

Have you ever felt lost inside so unloved within that you almost die  
Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside

Don't push your ignorance on me  
I'm not unrehearsed to your jealousy  
And I know you think I don't see the signs  
Well how do you know, do I look blind

So take it while you can so you can meet demands  
My breakdown is what you thrive on  
So rip it from my soul so everyone will know in the end  
I'm the break you're the bend

Have you ever felt lost inside so unloved within that you almost die  
Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside

Stranger inside

Have you ever felt lost inside so unloved within that you almost die  
Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside

Have you ever felt lost inside

Have you ever stepped out of the light and realized there's a stranger inside

Dean's only problem. He didn't realize that Julie was listening on the other side of the door! She knocked and came in without letting Dean answer, "Julie! What are you doing here?"

"Mrs. Moreau is out of town until tomorrow." Julie replied as she closed the door behind her, "Connie still relishing in the success of Rough and Tumble 25, but I wanted to come back and get some sleep. You sing really well."

"Thanks." Dean responded, "My mom had all of us take voice lessons. She wanted us to be well rounded, or something."

"That's nice." Julie said, "Are you okay? What did Dani have to tell you that would be so terrible?" She asked as she started at Dean's tear streaked face. He would never cry in front of people, but alone, who knew?

"What makes you think it was horrible?"

"You've been crying, Portman." Julie retorted. "Come on, you can tell me."

"Why do you want to know?"

"Look, both you and Dani are my friends. If something is the matter with my friends I like to know. I guess I just want to help if I can." Julie said.

Dean sighed. He had already blown Fulton off, but he kind of wanted to tell someone in a weird way. No one better then Julie, she was a very good listener, "It's just that, my dad got hurt at work." Dean muttered, "He got shot."

"I thought he was a teacher."

"He is."

"Oh." Julie said, "Wow, Portman, I'm really sorry."

"Thanks Cat-lady. Now I see why Dani tried to beat Abigail Johanson into a bloody mess of skank-prep." Dean replied, taking notice that Julie had just turned red and was trying not to hit anything. "Try really fluffy pillows. They don't hurt when you hit them."

"Thanks." Julie said. "I'd love to stay, but I'm really tired." She stood up and walked over to the door, "I'll see you in the morning, Dean."

"Night, Cat-lady." Dean said as he waved.

"_What a minute. She just called me Dean." _

"**Well, it's your name isn't it?" **

"_She usually just calls me Portman. Huh."_

"**What?"**

"_I never noticed how good she looked in those jeans."_

"**Hold on there, buddy. Rewind and freeze! You, in no way find Julie attractive!"**

"_Why not?"_

"**She's Julie! She's dating Scooter. You can not have a crush on Julie. She's a friend, nothing more. And she never will be!"**

"_I do not have a crush on Julie!"_

"**Liar."**

"_I am not a liar. Julie is a very good friend of mine, whom happens to be a girl."_

"**True. But you want more." **

"Oh, shut up!" Dean said out loud.

"Uh?" Julie asked with her head sticking back through the door.

"Nothing!" Dean said. Julie shrugged her shoulders and left again, closing the door behind her. "Oh, boy." Dean mumbled to himself. "This could get very complicated, very quickly." He listened to the silence, broken only by Julie whistling as she unlocked her door, opening it, closing it, and then nothing. "Man, Portman, you are whipped. But it's never going to happen, just go to sleep and then... Oh, God! I'm talking to myself!"


	21. Unwanted Comments

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** Yup, Fulton finally got off of his big butt and asked Tammy out, but just wait for their first date. Let's say that it isn't going to go as smoothly as they want it to. Yes, the ending was sad, and no, I will not tell anyone what will happen to Mr. Portman, they have to find out for themselves! I'm glad that you like.

Thanks yous are due to MuM YoU'lL bE mY gUaRdIaN aNgEl In ThE sKy WaTcHiNg OvEr Me YoUr PoOnChKa and BrokenAngel1753!

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Dean had fallen into a restless sleep about two hours after Julie had left his room and he had had his internal debate. The night, so far, had been worse then he had felt when Dani had accidentally put her left arm through a window. There had been way to much blood for Dean's taste, and Dani had been in agony for weeks while the deep abrasions healed. He knew that he shouldn't have left his favorite hockey puck on the stairs, so he felt that it was his fault that she had slipped, but that was beside the point. The point was that Dean was waking up ever 30 minute, scared stiff about what was happening back in Chicago. His father was in a hospital bed and no one knew if he was going to live or not. His mom was probably doing her best to keep herself together, but his brothers? Felix couldn't even remotely comprehend what was happening, he was only two! All he knew was that daddy was hurt. Caleb was who Dean was most worried about; Caleb and his father would do something sports related everyday, beneficial for both of them. The kid's favorite time of day.

Looking over at the clock, Dean groaned. It was 3:17 in the morning and he wasn't getting back to sleep easily. Dean sat up and turned his legs off of the side of his bed and rubbed his eyes. Thinking of nothing else, Dean stood and walked in the direction of the bathroom. "Ouch! Son of a bitch! Damn it! Fuck!" Dean mumbled as he picked up his foot that had landed on something very sharp on the floor. If someone had been looking in, they would have thought that he was doing some strange weird one foot dance, or something.

Once his foot had stopped hurting enough, he placed it gently on the floor in order to make sure that he didn't step on what ever he had stepped on again. He got down on his knees and felt around for the sharp object, and quickly found it. It was a piece of jewelery.

Dean rushed back to his bed and switched on the light. "Oh, God!" Dean called out as he quickly closed his eyes. Bright lights and unadjusted eyes do not, under any circumstances, mix. Dean waited a few seconds and attempted to open them again, this time taking it slowly. It worked. Dean gazed at the large oval in his hand; it wasn't gold, but silver or something close to it. He noticed that the oval had a hinge and a clasp, so it was a locket of some kind. Flipping the locket in his hand, Dean saw the initials "J.E.G" engraved in the latter side. J.E.G, that could mean it was Julie's. She had never told him her middle name, so anything was possible. The part that he had stepped on was a raised portion that held the initials, surrounded by blue and red stones. Knowing he shouldn't, but not being able to restrain himself, Dean flipped the clasp with his thumb and ran his nail in between the two sides, popping open the locket.

On one side was a very pretty women with red hair and green eyes flicked with gold. Dean was kind of reminded of Helena Christenson, the model. She was smiling and laughing, probably because of the cake that was on her nose. She had straight and very white teeth and full lips, but her most fascinating quality was the tiny yet detectable tattoo that was delicately curving around her neck and under her shirt.

The second side had a picture of a small girl that looked like a Julie mini-me, but with green eyes flicked with gold. Mother and daughter, obvious by looking at their eyes alone. She was smiling sweetly and holding a small falcon on her leather covered arm. She smiled as the bird sat there, wise and majestic looking.

Dean opted to go and ask Julie about the locket, even if it was 3 something in the morning; he would forget if he didn't. Knowing that he and Julie and Connie were probably the only three left in that hall, Dean didn't really take the caution to be quite. He just walked up to the door and knocked, silently laughing at the groans from inside. Julie opened the door, "Portman? What the hell are you doing here?" She asked.

"Portman?" Connie asked, coming up behind Julie, "You do know that I am going to kick your ass in the morning." Dean smiled and nodded, "What do you want?" She asked bitterly.

"I think you dropped this, Julie." He replied as he held out the locket.

"My locket." Julie said, taking it back, "Thanks Portman, I didn't know that I had lost it."

"E?" Connie asked, staring at the locket, "What does that stand for?" She had asked the very question that was currently on Dean's mind. Good, because he would have felt weird asking.

"Emmanuelle." Connie raised her eyebrows and Dean looked just plain confused, "It's spelled E-M-M-A-N-U-E-L-L-E. It's French. It was the name of my mother's best friend and pen pal when she was our age."

"Is that your mom, on the inside?" Dean asked.

"Dean! Have you been looking in my stuff?"

Dean smiled, then frowned. He shook his head 'yes', but then stopped and shook it no, "In my defense," Dean said, "I didn't really know that it was yours. I was just taking a guess."

Julie shook her head, "Yes, as a matter a fact, that was my mother on the inside." Dean opened his mouth to speak, but Julie pinched his lips together to stop him, "And the other person was my sister, Piper." Connie shoved Julie's shoulder in question, "Look, guys, I haven't seen either of them since my parent's got divorced when I was 6. And I haven't spoken to them since I called to tell them that I was going to the Goodwill Games. My father refused to let me speak to them after he found out that I called."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Let's just say that my parent's divorce got very nasty. My dad wanted full custody of both of us, not just me, for the sheer fact that he hated my mom." Dean was starting to regret asking, "Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed." Julie slammed the door in Dean's face.

"Whoops." Dean muttered as he made his way back to his room.

(-------)

"_Valk?_" A deep male voice asked, shaking Piper Gaffney awake. "_Kielzog omhoog, beste._" **(Dutch: Falcon? Wake up, dear.)**

"Adriaan?" Piper mumbled unhappily, "_Papa. Het is te vroeg!_" **(Dutch: Dad. It's too early!)**. "It's seven on a Saturday!" Adriaan was Piper's mother's boyfriend, and had been ever since Piper was 6. Man, those two needed to get a move on and get married. But, even though they were not married, Adriaan was more of a father to Piper then her birth father, Richard, had ever been. That was why Piper had no problem calling him her dad or speaking in Dutch; it was Adriaan's native language, after all. Adriaan had been teaching her since she was a child and she took to the language immediately. He shook her shoulder, "Fine, I'm up!"

"Thank you." He said. "Now, breakfast." Piper's eyes grew as he placed a large tray on legs over her lap. He pulled of the top over the plate, exposing the perfectly soft boiled eggs and crisp bacon and golden toast. "_Het ontbijt wordt gediend, mevrouw._" **(Dutch: Breakfast is served, madam.).**

"_U moest niet dit doen._" **(Dutch: You didn't have to do this.)**.

"I know, but I wanted to." Piper smiled. How was it that there could be so many different men in this world? Adriaan was a wonderful man, who did whatever he could for other people. Her birth father, Richard was the exact opposite. He was a greedy prick who wanted nothing more to take her from her mother, not that he was going to be able to after all these years. But poor Julie! She was stuck with him until she was eighteen, unless she filed for emancipation. Not really a bad option.

"_Goede ochtend, Julie._" Piper said to her sister's picture on her bedside table. **(Dutch: Good morning, Julie.)**. Piper smiled to her 11 month older sister, who was immortalized as a 6 year old, holding onto her favorite animal, a cat named Rio. Piper turned back to Adriaan, "What's the matter?" She asked him.

"It is nothing." He replied, quite unconvincingly. Piper raised her eyebrows to show that she was skeptical. "How do you think your mother would like this?" He asked, pulling out a blue velvet box and opening it to reveal an absolutely gorgeous pear shaped diamond ring. Piper gazed at the ring, transfixed, "Is that a 'she'll love it'?" Piper nodded, "_Goed, eet nu uw ontbijt._" **(Dutch: Good, now eat your breakfast.). **Piper complied immediately.

(---------)

Casey Conway was cleaning a table at Mickey's Diner, humming to herself. She had told Charlie the big news and now he had asked if he could come to her next OB/GYN appointment, boy was he in for a surprise. As she wiped the table with a damp cloth, a familiar scent of a particular brand of cologne hit her nose. But only one person that she knew wore that cologne, but he couldn't be here now. Could he? Casey looked up, towards the door. Oh, yeah, he was here. "Gordon?" She asked.

He turned as flashed his patent Gordon Bombay smile, "Casey. It's good to see you again." He walked over to her and gave her a hug, although he wasn't sure why.

"You too. I didn't expect to see you here." Casey replied before she caught a whiff of an unopened package of Marlboro's. "Zeb, I can smell those from over here. Put them away or I will have no problem kicking you out!" Thanks to her pregnancy and heightened hormones, Casey could smell just about anything within a mile. Not always fun.

"I hate you pregnant!" The 22 year old Zeb called from half way across the diner.

"Yeah, well, you have about 7 and a half more months." Casey retorted, "So get over it!" Gordon's mouth dropped open and his eyes grew. Did she just say what he had heard her say?

"Casey?" He began to ask, "You're pregnant?" Casey nodded, "Wow, that's great. Congratulations."

"Thanks, Gordon."

"Ew! You little mutant!" A voice familiar to Gordon called through the door, "Daddy! Julian spit his chewed up crackers on my arm!" Myrka finished as she walked over to Gordon, keeping a saliva covered arm away from her body.

"I didn't mean to, Myrka!" Julian cried. He was, quite literally, close to tears. Myrka began to disagree before Gordon gently pushed her towards the bathroom, "I really didn't mean to, Daddy." The poor six-year-old whined.

"I know, I know." Gordon said in an attempt to console his son, "But Myrka's a girl, she doesn't know that."

"Excuse me?" Casey asked, attempting to sound insulted, "What about girls?"

Gordon was about to try and cover up what he said, but fate did it for him, "Coach? Yo, yo, guys! Coach is back." He heard the familiar voice of Jesse Hall exclaim. It was as if a stampede had made it's way through the diner. All of the Ducks jostled to see him as Julian jumped into the booth and hid for the time being. "Yo, Coach, what are you doing here?"

"Yeah, Bombay." Charlie added, "Why didn't you go back to Chicago and forget all about us?"

"Oh yes," Gordon replied, "I could forget _those _memories."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing." Goldberg said as he put on a pout and tried to act as if he had been hurt and disgruntled by Gordon's comment. "Guys, I think that he wants us to forget him." Everyone jokingly agreed.

"Well, considering that everyone in this eclectic group are going to be rude and not offer any introductions, I'll do it." Max said in a huff as he walked forward and extended his hand, "Max Newmen. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir. You have no idea how much I have heard about you."

"Don't believe it." Gordon shot back, "I'm not a complete lunatic."

"Daddy." Myrka whined as she walked back over to Gordon and leaned on him. Immediately, Julian popped out if his hiding place, "Yeah, yeah. I know that you didn't mean to spit your crackers on me." She sighed, "But don't ever do that again, it's really gross."

Everyone looked towards Gordon with mass amounts of confusion, abashment, and astonishment. All of them asking for an answer. Russ was the first to get something out of his mouth, "Bombay got with a sister? Twice?" He asked, taking notice of Myrka's and Julian's biracial brown skin. Gordon knew that this was coming. "What's up Shorty?" He asked, commenting on Myrka's short stature.

"Let's see." Myrka replied to Russ' outburst, "Loud, blunt, and oozing LA." She turned her head to look up at her father, "Russ Tyler, right?" She asked. Gordon nodded. "FYI, bud. We're adopted, but my brother and I are blood related. And _never_ call me that again!" Gordon tapped Myrka on the shoulder to ask what was wrong with her. She shook her head, but then began to rub her temples. "Excuse me." She rushed back into the bathroom, looking pale and in pain.

"I'll go check on her, Gordon." Casey offered as she followed Myrka into the bathroom.

"What's wrong?" Russ asked, oblivious, "What did I do? Was it something I said?" He looked around for answers, but none came. "Man, how did I make the little kid sick."

Gordon shrugged his shoulders, but turned to Julian when the tiny boy sniffled, "That's was Abe called her on the bad days." Gordon comprehended what was going on, but everyone else was still utterly lost, "He called her 'Shorty'." Julian began to cry heavily as Gordon pulled him into a hug.

"Man, I am still lost." Russ groaned.

"Don't you get it?" Max asked, "Abe is more then likely their birth father." Gordon nodded, "And those bad days are days that he would hurt them. It's all very typical of a child abuse case. AND YOU REMINDED HER!" He added, slapping Russ across his head. Russ backed away, "Just never say that around her again, and she'll more then likely be okay. Or, she'll hate you for the rest of your lives."

"Man, I didn't know." Russ said in an attempt to defend himself, "If I had, I would never have said that. I didn't mean to. She's just short!"

"Yeah, so are you." Fulton responded. To Fulton, Russ was quite short, "But you don't see anyone else commenting on it."


	22. We're Back

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**MsSuus-** Thank you! I am happy that you like the surprises that happen throughout the chapters. And that you like the different languages that I use. Another thank you for the correction of translation error that I had. I will be the first to admit that I don't have the most reliable source of languages, other then what most people see on a semi-regular basis (meaning Spanish and Italian, etc.). Just the most reliable for where I am. So thanks again for correcting me!

**PrincessH-** Yes, the date should be happening within the next two chapters, so you don't have to wait a horribly long amount of time. I'm glad that you like what is happening.

**mdgirl18-** Adam and Dani will be getting together very soon. But it will be after Tammy and Fulton's first date. So long waiting will not be required.

Thank you to Lilmonkey1507, BrokenAngel1753, and M u M m I e I m I s S y O u!

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Adam sat in his room on his bed while Monica lied across his chair. "What are mom and dad doing?" He asked without turning towards his sister. What? He did have a book report for English to finish!

"Mom is trying to convince dad that he needs to patch things up with Jamie and go to the wedding. She wants him to go to Nevada on his next vacation. Well, that and looking through the living room window to watch the family across the street move in." Adam laughed. It was an unwritten tradition that whenever a new family moved in, all of the neighbors watched the process through their windows. "Why do we live in a neighborhood full of rich and exceedingly nosy people?" Adam shrugged. "Thank you Adam, that was quite informative." Monica replied sarcastically.

Adam laughed as he looked out the window towards the house that had belonged to the parents of a kid named Jimmy Jacobs, or J.J. as he was so often called. But J.J. was now on a plane to Europe and his parents were moving to Georgia for a better job that had arisen for them both. All Adam knew was that the Jacobs' were the snobbiest, richest, and most irritatingly closed-minded family in the history of the planet Earth. Hopefully this new family would be better.

Outside the house a tall man with brown hair and a slightly shorter women with red hair were directing the movers to were things were suppose to go. The Mustang convertible that sat in the front had it's top down, revealing a pair of black carpi clad legs wearing black flip flops with lime green straps. By the shape of the legs, Adam could tell that it was a girl that was lying in the car with her legs hanging over the side. "God, I hope they aren't Neo-Nazi's who hate every minority and every religion that is different to them." Adam said.

"Like Mr. and Mrs. Jacobs were?" Monica asked without looking up from her Nancy Drew. Adam nodded, "Let's hope that this is not a case of lightning strikes twice, this neighborhood doesn't need another family like that. Didn't they scare the Ducks once or twice?"

"Or a million." Adam replied flatly. He went back to the book that he had to read, _Wuthering Heights_, and it was really starting to get depressing. "I want to put this away! But I can't! I hate depressing books."

"Then put it away." Monica retorted, "You don't have English until Tuesday and Thursday, and that report isn't due until _next_ week on Thursday!" Adam sighed and placed the book on his bedside table while looking out the window. The movers were getting back in their trucks and leaving. He looked and saw that the girl that had been lying in the car had jumped out with a basketball in hand.

The girl sat down and kicked off her flip flops, pulling a pair of socks and basketball shoes next to her. She had blond hair, from what Adam could tell, and her carpi's had chains hanging off of them. As she finished tying her shoes, she stood and pulled off her chains, placing them on the chair by the side door of the house, and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. Adam had no clue why he was watching her, he just felt it would be much more interesting then reading an increasingly depressing book. He noticed that a basketball basket had been placed high on the garage door. Was she going to shoot at that? She was tiny, probably shorter then Dani was. Not that he thought that something was wrong with Dani's height, or anything. Monica came to join him just in time to see the girl shoot at the basket from halfway down the driveway and score. "She's good."

"Yup, she sure is Monica." Adam replied, unable to think of anything else to say. He walked back to his bed and pulled out the sheet of paper his English teacher had given him that told them which books that they had to do reports on over the year. He looked for the book after _Wuthering Heights_, "Oh, jeez! Has he lost his ever loving mind?" Monica looked over at Adam, "_Lord of the Flies_!"

(--------)

"What the hell is the matter with you?" Scooter asked Adam during Gym the next day. This was the only class that Adam didn't have with a Duck, but he did have it with Scooter, so that was okay. Adam shook his head while he stretched out his arms. Gym was the only class that could have all four grades in it at the same time, but most seniors had taken it, so Scooter was the lone senior. The only reason he hadn't taken it yet was because the class had been too full when he would sign up for it.

"Woah, guys, Dean Buckley alert!" One of the girls said as she pointed towards the door, "Look like you're doing something productive!" Dean Buckley walked passed them with a short girl with blond hair and black pants with chains. Well, this was different. He disappeared with the girl into the teacher, Coach Willis', office.

After about 10 or 15 minutes, Dean Buckley left and Coach Willis came out of his office, "All righty, then. Today we will be starting out section on basketball. So, divide into teams of boys and girls." The girls groaned. "Oh, come on ladies, and pick one team member to face off for the ball." The boys immediately sent Scooter. He had been on the Varsity Basketball team since he was a freshmen, kind of like Adam had been for hockey, except he never went back to JV. "Girls?"

"Against Scooter?" Eliza Johnston, a very tall member of the volleyball team, asked. "Heck no!"

"I'll do it." A voice called from the direction of the girls changing room. The girl that had been wearing chains was know wearing a red and silver tank top and dark blue shorts.

"What are you, 4 foot?" A boy name Johnny Farly asked as he laughed.

"I'm five feet and one half inches, thank you very much!" She retorted snappily. Adam could tell that she hated being taken less serious because of her height.

"Yeah, John-Boy." Scooter remarked, "Let's get this game started." He took his position as the girl did the same. It was noticeable that the other girls thought that this was a joke and they would never win. "You ready, short stuff?"

"The name's Piper!" She scowled as Coach Willis threw the ball into the air. To everyone's surprise she jumped _higher _then Scooter and knocked the ball in her team's favor. Eliza caught the ball and began to run in the direction of the boys basket. She passed to other girls, as Piper made her way down the court to the basket. "I'm open!" Piper called once Eliza got the ball again. Eliza passed and Piper ran to the basket and jumped up, dunking the ball and slapping the rim. She turned to Scooter, "Come on, Short stuff. Get in the game." Scooter was in awe, as was Adam.

The game went pretty much the same way, and ended with the girls winning for the first time in living memory. Coach Willis was astounded and made a mental note to tell Coach's Jolene Ackles and Aidan Thompson, the girl's basketball coaches, about Piper. His whistle had literally fallen out of his mouth a few times as he watched her play.

"I can't believe we got the shit beaten out of by a pipsqueak!" Johnny Farly complained as he walked back to the boy's changing rooms at the end of the class period, "I mean, what the hell is that girl on?" He opened his locker harshly and pulled out his clothes.

"That's what you two get for insulting her height." Adam retorted towards Johnny and Scooter, "You don't have to be tall to play good basketball." He pulled out his shirt and pulled it over his head. Scooter sighed, he hated losing, especially in basketball. It was his favorite sport, followed by hockey.

The boys walked into the hall where all the girls, except Piper, were celebrating. Adam and Scooter passed, going were ever they wanted for their first break of the day. They walked outside and found the Ducks laughing and chattering. All of them, that is, except Dean, who had been progressively quite over the past several days. "Hey guys." Adam said as Scooter sat next to Julie and lied his head on the table that they were sitting at.

"What's the matter with him?" Charlie asked. Scooter groaned and banged his head on the table for a second. "Okay, now I really want to know."

"We started basketball in Gym today." Everyone shook their heads, confused, "And we got our asses royally kicked off and handed to us on a silver platter." Now everyone groaned.

"She was this tall!" Scooter moaned as he held up his hands and pulled his index finger and thumb about three millimeter's apart. "Tiny!" He placed his head back on the table.

"Okay!" Fulton said, not wanting to see Scooter cry, "Let's change the subject. Hey, Portman! We saw Bombay over the weekend and guess what, he has kids! A boy and a girl, and Russ made the poor girl get sick!"

"Man, can we forget about that!" Russ yelled indignantly. "I told y'all, I didn't mean to do that to the kid."

"You mean Crabtree actually approved the adoptions." Dean replied in a monotone voice. "That little bastard actually did something helpful and just in his fucking judicial career! It's a sign of the Apocalypse, we're all going to die." Everyone practically jumped back in fear of Dean's mood. He wasn't breaking anything, but he was internalizing, and that was bad for Dean because he would explode at one point and when he did, it would not be pretty.

But Julie understood a little at least, "No word?"

"Not one fucking syllable." Dean replied. He looked around, "Look, I met Myrka and Julian when Bombay came to my place to try and convince me to come here." Ken opened his mouth to speak, "Guys, it never came up! I guess that is just slipped my mind!"

Julie nodded and looked over to the person sitting at the only other occupied table, "Oh my God! PIPER!" She screamed. The girl looked over and her face filled with shock. Scooter looked up, groaned again, and banged his head against the table again. Everyone alternated between looking between the two girls, but Dean, who raised his eyebrows in only mild confusion.

"JULIE!" The girl cried as she and Julie hugged tightly, both squealing happily. Once they pulled away, "What are you doing here?"

"I have a hockey scholarship." Julie replied, "What are you doing here?"

"Mom, Dad, and I just moved to Edina." Julie furrowed her eyebrows, "My dad, Jules. Mom's boyfriend; the man who is more of a father the Richard has ever been and will ever be." She tapped Scooter on the shoulder, "Sorry that you lost, but there's a first time for everything."

"Wow, you put it so delicately. But you played a good game." He shook her hand and smiled, "Now, how the hell do you two know each other?" Julie raised a single eyebrow and tried to to laugh. Piper had kicked Scooter's ass in basketball; the girl's basketball coaches would be breaking down her door to beg her to play. "And how did you get so good at basketball?"

"My mom played, she taught me." Piper replied, "And she's my sister." Stunned silence from Scooter and all of the Ducks. "Did you never tell anyone about me?" She asked Julie.

"Never came up." Julie muttered, "Besides you never mentioned Louise to me before Dani told us about her." Scooter opened his mouth, "Don't argue with me, you know you'll lose." All of the Ducks either laughed or nodded, except Dean. A fact that Piper noticed and made her want to know more about the relationships between everyone in this group.

"That's true." Charlie replied, "No one ever wins against girls. At least not us." He added, pointing out all of the male Ducks and Scooter. "But, you never told any of us." Julie nodded in objection, "Okay, by raise of hands, who knew that Cat-lady had a sister?" Connie and Dean raised their hands, "Oh."

"Well, at least I got a tad bit of recognition, Julie Emmanuelle." Piper shot at Julie, jokingly.

"Maybe I just didn't want to tell anyone because you were the most annoying little sister on the face of the Earth, Piper Addison." Piper stuck out her tongue. "Do you remember what happened the last time you did that? That's what I thought." She finished as Piper's tongue quickly slipped back into her mouth.

"Bell." Dean pointed out as the sound of the school bell reached their ears to tell them that class or break was over.

"Fantastic." Piper groaned as she pulled out her schedule, "Does any know were I could find Mythology with Walton?" The looked back up at the people surrounding her, "What?"

"You're taking Mythology?" Scooter asked incredulously.

"Is that a problem?" Piper asked, "I just took it because I saw the subject on the class sign-up and I read the description. So sue me, I'm interested in Mythology."

"Yeah, Walton's suppose to be the hardest teacher in this school. And he doesn't make the subject that easy either." Scooter replied.

"Well, I must say I do enjoy a challenge." Piper retorted, "Now, can anyone tell me where it is or not?"

"Walton's class is right next to the ice rink." Connie piped up, "I'll take you there, I pass it everyday to go to Horticulture." Piper thanked her and everyone went their separate ways to their separate classes.

(---------)

Piper knew that Julie had hockey practice from 3:45 to 5:45, so she just sat and waited, getting all of her homework done in the process. "Piper!" A voice called from the end of the hall. Piper looked up and saw her sister with the Ducks, Scooter, and a man that wasn't familiar, the hockey Coach, obviously. "Coach, this is my sister, Piper. Pi, this is Coach Orion."

"Pleasure." Piper replied as she shook Orion's hand. "Jules, I was wondering if..."

"How about you stick to the twirling and the spinning and the jumping and the 'oh-my-God-I-will-never-do-that-in-my-freaking-life'-ing. I'll stick to hitting people." Another voice called out. Everyone looked towards the door that the voice had come behind, but it didn't belong to who came out.

"I think that that would be best." Dani said as she walked backwards through the door. "Oh, hey guys." She said as she turned and noticed everybody.

"Dani, I want you to meet my sister, Piper." Julie introduced. Piper shook Dani's hand and Dani smiled and nodded.

"Leah, Keoni, get out here!" Both Dean and Max spit out the water the was in their mouths, unable to keep it in, "Guys!" Through the door came a familiar girl with blue/black hair and a hockey jersey, followed by a very tan and muscular boy with black hair, who was wearing a jean jacket.

"What's up, brahs?" He asking as he slapped palms with Max and Dean. "Sweet set up you got here."

"Thanks Keoni." Dean said, "Now would you two kindly tell me what in holy hell you are doing here?" Dani, Leah, and Keoni raised their eyebrows, "Okay, stupid question. Here's another one, who long will you be here?"

"Well," Leah began, "because of the, um, unfortunate events that have taken place, we get out until Thursday. But we are going to be leaving here early Wednesday morning."

"And apparently, you two are going to kill me." Keoni added in a attempt to lighten the mood. "At least, according to Dani, you are." Dean and Max glanced at each other, confused. He sighed and pulled up the left arm of his jacket, showing off a tattoo of a tiger clawing it's way through a Yin/Yang symbol and growling, that was on his forearm.

"Stick or needle?" Dean asked.

"Needle." Keoni replied. "But," He added as he turned around and pulled down his jacket, "this one was stick." Across the base of his neck were symbols that no one really understood.

"You know what, Keoni?" Max said, "Dani's right, we are going to kill you." Keoni laughed.

"I thought you had one." Averman said to Dean.

Dani looked from Leah to Keoni and moved her arms like she was conducting an orchestra or band of some form. In unison all three called out, "SHARPIE!" Dean scowled at all three of them. Then Dani spoke alone, "Our mom's rule is that none of us are allowed to have a tattoo until we are 18 and then we can make our own decisions."

"Okay, look, I'm going to clear this up because the looks on your faces are about to make me weep." Dean said to the indignant looks in Fulton and Ken's faces. "Everyone, you all know Leah. This, however, is Keoni Carson. We've lived two blocks from each other since we were 5, after he moved to Chicago from Maui. Keoni, these are the Ducks."

"It's nice to meet you all." Then he turned his full attention to Julie, "I watched all the U.S games during the Junior Goodwill Games, and I found you're performance during the first game against Iceland rather inspiring."

"Hey! I got kicked out before her!" Dean protested.

"Yeah, but you didn't knock those two morons flat with a hit in the balls, she did." Dean reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Okay, I know that it's a little late to ask," Piper said, "but what does needle or stick mean?"

"Oh, that." Dean replied, "Those are the two ways you can get a tattoo. You can use a electronic needle, which is what you see most of the time. Or you can go to a special person who was trained in the art of using the sticks."

"And what they do," Dani began, "is take a long stick with a sharp piece of metal that looks like teeth on the end of it, and they place it close to the skin and take another stick and bang the ink into your skin."

Everyone grimaced, "Actually, I found that the needle hurts more." Keoni replied. "Dani, your pants are ringing."

"Ha ha," Dani shot back, "I forgot to give Coach his cell phone back." She pulled the phone out of her side pocket and looked at the name on the screen, "Joey!" She exclaimed happily as she flipped open the phone, "Hello, Joey. My darling, my love." She smiled for a moment, but then scowled at the phone, "Josephine Cartier, don't speak to me that way. If you have forgotten, I was the one who set you up with my coach. You two would have never gone out if it wasn't for me." The smile returned, "That's what I thought." Dani looked up a flight of stairs, "Yo, Coach, Joey's on the phone."

"Eric?"

"Not now, Ted." He mumbled back as he grabbed his phone from Dani's hand and began to speak into it, "Hello. Hey." And he left the room.

"I'm good." Dani said as she patted her hair twice on each side, "And, no, I'm not going to tell you anything about her." She replied to the questioning look that had plastered itself on the face to Ted Orion. "I'm Cupid, but don't gossip." Dean shook his head as he though, _"Most of the time." _


	23. One Disaster After Another

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** Thanks. I am glad that you think that the last chapter was good. If it interests you to know, what happens on Tammy and Fulton's date will be explained in this chapter (if you couldn't tell by the title).

Also, thank yous are due to Lilmonkey1507, BrokenAngel1753, and M u M m I e I m I s S y O u.

(-------)

Dani sat in the hot makeshift classroom, fanning herself with a fan that Eve had brought back from a trip to England several years ago. Eve had given it to Dani as a present and Dani took it almost everywhere. Dani looked over to Tommy as Ms. Sims shook him awake. "Tommy! Wake up!" Dani yelled as she threw an eraser at his head. "Ms. Sims, could you let us go for fear of our lives?"

"Unfortunately Dani, despite the fact that it's about 100 degrees in here, I can't let you go this early." Ms. Sims replied in her very loved Boston accent. Dani sighed, why the hell was the heat up this high? It was only September. "Come in." Ms. Sims called to the knock on the door.

"Oh, hello everyone." Dean Buckley's familiar voice said as he entered the room, "I see that you have all realized our current problem." Dani raised her eyebrows and began fanning herself again. Tammy had been holding an electric fan the sprayed water up to her face. "We, um, I have been told that the heat in this room will not go off and we can't turn on the air conditioning."

Dani rolled her eyes and mumbled, "_Nessuna merda, Sherlock. Già abbiamo provato._ **(Italian: No shit, Sherlock. We already tried.)**. He left with his apologies and Dani turned back to Ms. Sims, "Can we at least go down the ice. It's cooler down there."

"Look, I'll do this," Ms. Sims replied, "I'll give you all ten minutes, just ten, to go back to your dorms and change into something much cooler. Then I will pull out the portable board and we can go sit outside the door, is that alright?"

"Ms. Sims, has anyone told you that you are a total godsend?" Tammy asked as she stood and spritzed water in her face again. She grabbed a hold of the scruff of Tommy's shirt pulled him up, "Ten minutes starting now?"

"Now." Ms. Sims replied, pointing her index finger downward so that she was pointing to the ground.

(-------)

It was finally over! The hockey practice from Hell was over, done, finished. After two hours of pure pain from Orion, all of the Ducks lugged themselves back to the locker room, "When did coach get pissed at us?" Guy asked as he collapsed on a bench.

"Don't ask us." Connie and Julie replied as Connie fell next to Guy and Julie dropped in front of her locker.

"I think I know." Max said. Everyone turned to him for an explanation, "From what I have heard, Becky's physical therapy hasn't been going that great for a while, and the doctors haven't been helping with raising anyone's moral." He sat down and began massaging his left forearm, "I think that Dani has been doing most of that."

"Leave it to Dani to try and do something against doctors." Dean sighed. Max laughed and nodded, everyone else didn't get it, "Dani has never really liked doctors. From the time she was little all doctors have ever done was screw up what she had going for her and try to break her down and put her on ten million different kinds of medicine. She just doesn't like them." Max nodded in agreement as he began to change.

By the time everyone had changed, they all felt much better, but ready to leave as quickly as possible. They walked to the exit but ran into each other when Adam blocked their way out, "Cake-eater! What the hell?" Fulton asked as he pushed Adam out of the way. "Oh, the cake-eater parental figures." He added when he saw what Adam had stopped for. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Banks."

"Hello kids." Mrs. Banks called back.

"Mom, dad," Adam replied, shell-shocked, "What are you doing here?" He looked from one to the other with questioning in his eyes.

"Monica and Ana wanted to come for some reason." Mrs. Banks replied. She cast an unfamiliar glance over to her husband, "Don't do _anything._" He tried to protest, causing everyone in the vicinity to be confused. Well, everyone but Adam.

"Are you two going to start arguing about Tom Reily again? Because if you are, just tell me so that I can leave and not have to hear it all over again." Both of his parents looked at him in shock and Mr. Banks mumbled something about eavesdropping. "I wouldn't exactly call it eavesdropping, considering the entire neighborhood probably heard you." Adam's friends gaped at him, his mother sighed, his father was grinding his teeth together, and his sister, who had no idea what was going on, walked up to him cheerfully.

"Hi Adam!" She exclaimed as she hugged him around his waist.

"Hi Monica. Becky, Ana." Adam replied to Monica and the two girls that had followed her into the room. The waved to him and he noticed that all three of them had blue paint-covered hands.

"I swear, if one more person touches my stomach... I'm going to have to start breaking wrists!" An irritated voice called from the direction of the ice.

"Jeannette?" Max and Dean asked at the same time. Through the door and there she was. The godmother of all the Portman children and best friend to Alyssa Portman since the age of two. Her trademark curly, burgundy hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she was pregnant. Wait a minute, pregnant? What?

"When the hell did that happen!" Dean yelled, catching Jeannette's attention, as he pointed to her large bump.

"You... watch your mouth. I don't want to have to tell your mother all sorts of horrid details when I get back to Chicago. Details like penalty box stripping, for instance." Max gazed at Dean and tried not to laugh. No one had told him about the penalty box stripping!

"Jeannette! You look great. Have you done something with your hair?" He asked innocently, hoping that she didn't tell his mother about that particular story. Wait a minute, what was she doing here and how did she find out about that? She gestured her hand in front of his face, efficiently cutting him off.

"I am here until Friday, on a person favor to your mother." She replied, "So, just be a perfect angel until I leave and we will be just peachy keen." She was defiantly pissed off about something, she never said peachy keen in her life.

"What did Alan do this time?" He asked, catching the gist of his godmother's anger. She slammed her hand on a table and seethed for a moment. He jumped back at the sound, she had never in living memory been this angry at something, she was the nicest person that anyone could ever know.

"Jeannette!" Dani called, it was obvious that she had heard the slam and had come to who's ever rescue that she needed to, "I just made a lot of Chocolate-Coke cake, want any?"

"Sure." Jeannette said before stalking off and muttering something that sounded suspiciously like, "Stupid hormones."

Once she was gone, Dani turned back to Dean, "You idiot!" She hissed at her brother's perplexed expression, "How long have you been out of the Chicago grapevine?" She asked, exasperated.

"A while obviously!" Dean breathed, trying to keep in his anger as he pointed in the direction that Jeannette had left. Alan had left Jeannette a good amount of time ago, thank god! Alan was the worlds biggest 1900's asshole who thought women were no good for anything other then cooking, cleaning, and sex. He had broken off their engagement when Jeannette refused to leave the Rink and the Portman's behind.

"Look, Alan found out about the baby almost three weeks ago and the bastard of the universe then decides, 'Hey, this kid ain't mine,' so Jeannette just got a court order for a paternity test. He just wants to try and get out of child support. Jackass."

"Really?" Dean asked as his anger rose, "Excuse me, everyone, I have to go and kill someone."

"Or you could just let your mom kill him." Leah said as she walked up behind Dani, "At least that what she said you would say, so we had to tell you that." Dean raised his eyebrows, "Yup, she said that." Then another subject popped into her head, "Are the ex-Varsity really that stupid, or was that a one day thing?" Dean was taken aback by this question, "They hit on me about three hours ago, it was disturbing."

"They are all stupid, all of the time." Dani said, cutting off any explanation that Dean had been planing, "Except for Scooter, he's okay. All of the others have the I.Q of cooked cabbage."

"Cooked cabbage?" Ken asked.

Dani sighed and held her hand limply in front of her face, "Cooked cabbage. Limp, can't do anything." She hit her hand back and forth, "Not pleasing in any way." Dean fought to keep in laughter while everyone began to get the joke.

(-------)

Tammy slammed the door to the room that she was sharing with Gia and Dani, causing Dani to flinch as she spoke on the computer with her cousin, Sage. "Did the date not go well?" Dani asked as she looked up and saw that Tammy was covered with what looked like orange milkshake.

"What was your first clue, Dani?" Tammy asked sourly. She dropped her bag on the floor and dug in her dresser and pulled out her pajamas. "I need a shower." She grumbled as she walked to the bathroom and slammed the door behind her. Dani watched, surprised, and then turned back to her computer.

**Famousbyrelation- Dani? Dan? Hey, where did you go?**

**NOTsweet&cute- Oh, sorry, Sage. I have a feeling that Tammy's date didn't go that great.**

**Famousbyrelation- Who did she go out with?**

**NOTsweet&cute- Fulton Reed.**

**Famousbyrelation- Fulton? Dean's friend? As in 1/3 of the Bash Brothers?**

**NOTsweet&cute- Yeah.**

**Famousbyrelation- Tammy and a bad boy? Who would have thought? **

**NOTsweet&cute- Me. **

**Famousbyrelation- That does not surprise me. But off of that subject, tell me about Adam!**

**NOTsweet&cute- Wait a minute, how did you find out about Adam?**

**Famousbyrelation- Dan, if you have to ask that then you are not ready to know.**

**NOTsweet&cute- I'll take that as Doe, Leah, and Eve have told you some things. More then likely with the help of Keoni, considering he's the only one of that bunch that can do more with signing then the alphabet. **

**Famousbyrelation- Ding, ding, ding... We have a winner. **

**NOTsweet&cute- Sage, look, it's very complicated. **

**Famousbyrelation- First of all, I can't 'look'. Second of all, I better be able to meet him when daddy and I come down during the holidays. **

**NOTsweet&cute- Sure Sage. But I have to go, it's getting late and I have to be up early in the morning. I'll see you soon.**

**Famousbyrelation- 'Kay, see you. **

Dani closed the conversation and sat there watching Tammy vigorously tug at her hair with a comb. Tammy not only looked completely pissed off, but ready to cry. After ten minutes Tammy threw down the comb and placed her face in her hands, "Do you want to talk?" Dani asked.

"About?" Tammy retorted.

"What happened to ruin your date?" Dani asked, "You don't have to if you don't want to. I just thought that it would make you feel better." She watched as Tammy raised her head and sighed heavily, "Come and sit, grasshopper. Tell me what ails you." Dani said offering the space on her bed for Tammy to sit down on.

Tammy obliged, "What didn't go wrong? He's never going to want to go out with me again!" She mumbled, "It started off great, we met at the Mall of America and then we went to this 1950's style restaurant, kinda like Micky's. Then the waiter dropped an orange cream milkshake over my head, and it only went downhill from there."

"Do tell." Dani encouraged.

Meanwhile... in Fulton and Dean's dorm room.

"After that moron dropped the shake on her, we left without eating and we didn't go to the movie that I had planned to take her to, because she wanted to get back to her room and shower."

"What movie?"

"Does it matter?"

"I guess not. But why didn't you go to the dorm with her?"

"I walked her there."

"Yeah, but you didn't go in and help..."

"PORTMAN! Can we not? I haven't finished." Dean put his hands up in surrender and Fulton went on, "As we were walking back, who shows up but her mother!" Dean cringed, he knew enough about Tammy's mother, "She goes on this wild tangent about who Tammy should be practicing and how she found a skater from Georgia that Tammy would be great with."

"Ouch!" Dean replied, feeling his best friend's pain, "What happened."

"Well, Tammy asked me if she and her mom could have some privacy so I went and waited on a bench. Then Tammy and her mom got into this big argument about her mother's bluntness. Tammy got really mad and said that she wasn't going to be in any type of relationship with a guy that lives halfway across the planet."

"Huh? Across the planet?"

"Georgia, the country that was once part of the Soviet Union." Fulton clarified, "Then Tammy's mom slapped her because she started bad mouthing the D-5 Ducks and hockey in general, Dani, and a lot of other stuff, and Tammy yelled that she was 'so damn closed-minded and didn't know shit about hockey or Dani'. Tammy pulled me away and didn't talk about what had happened. She was close to tears when we got to her room."

"That bitch was bad mouthing my sister?" Dean asked, "Who the fuck does she think she is?"

"The Queen of Sheba or something." Fulton replied, bitterly, "I'm not surprised that Tammy and Tommy are scared of her, she's like the evil bitch-monster of death or the devil incarnate." He sighed and laid back on his bed, "Tammy is never going to want to go out with me again."


	24. Wait, WHAT?

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** Tammy's mother is evil, so I played that up to the greatest extent that I could possibly muster myself into writing; I am glad that the date was a winner in your book. With both of them embarrassed around each other what will Chicago's Cupid do to get them back together? We'll see. **(Hopefully that didn't sound as covered in cheese as I think it does!)**

(-------)

Jeannette had gone, Dani was stuck without anyone from Chicago to keep her sane, and Dean wasn't faring all that great either. No one had brought up how Mr. Kal Jose Portman was doing or even if he was doing anything at all! No... no thinking about that, he couldn't die, he wasn't allowed! So, he wouldn't and that was that. Hopefully.

Without noticing where she was going, Dani ended up walking smack into a wall of an alleyway that lead to the quad or courtyard or whatever the hell they had at Eden Hall. "Ow." Dani mumbled as she rubbed her nose, "Stupid wall." The past few days had not been Dani's best, not since Tammy and Fulton's date had completely tanked thanks to the bitch/hypocrite of the century... Mrs. Duncan. Dani sighed her exasperated sigh that signaled her need to crawl into a hole and die, and turned towards the quad... or courtyard... or whatever.

Dani stopped at the edge of the alleyway as saw two girls and a boy sitting on benches and playing musical instruments. Band geeks, just like Dani. A short girl with wavy strawberry blond hair and average weight was playing a soprano saxophone. The other girl, average height and weight with long, straight brunette hair was playing a trumpet. The boy, who was tall and rather scrawny with black hair that didn't suit him, was playing a French horn.

Over in the distance, even though the noise made it completely obvious, the Ducks had made their way to a table. By the comments that were being made, Piper was with them and, more then likely, a little freaked out. "He is so cute." Dani heard the girl with strawberry blond hair say.

"Tarah? Who are you talking about?" The boy asked as he looked over to the flock at their table, "Oh, Portman probably." Dani sighed, she hoped not. Dean had enough squealing fan-girls as it was, he didn't need anymore.

"Nope, sorry Art." Enter Dani sigh of relief.

"Banks?" Art asked. Alarms were going off in Dani's head as she prayed that Tarah disagreed.

"Nuh-uh." Sigh again.

"Conway?" The other girl asked.

"He's dating Linda, Lucille. Of course not."

"Germaine?" Head shake no. "Oh, right. Cause even if you did, Connie would peck you to death." Head shake in agreement. "Um, Mendoza?"

"Oh, please say he's wrong!" Lucille exclaimed. Poor Luis, being with Mindy had had it's downsides. Dani had accidentally walked in on a date that the two of them were on and Mindy had been making google eyes with the guy serving an old women her coffee. She was practically having sex with the guy right then and there, and Luis knew it, he had that look in his eye. Poor Latino-who-picks-the-worst-girls.

"Not Luis, but he really isn't that bad."

"Then WHO?" Both Art and Lucille asked as their patience was getting thin.

"Well..." Dani's jaw dropped as she heard the name. What wonderful and juicy and gossipy information had just been passed to her. The only problem was whether she would be the first to rat Tarah out or not. Thinking it was better to go a different route, Dani opted to turn around an go back the way she came.

(--------)

Luis would have given anything at the current moment to be with the Ducks and not sitting and waiting while Mindy finished an English quiz that she had missed when the cheerleaders had gone to an exhibition the week before. He was so bored and if he didn't wait, she would flip and accuse him of cheating. Yeah, he was the cheater, sure, whatever you say.

His cell phone buzzed in his pants pocket and he monotonously dropped his hand and pulled it out. It was probably the Ducks calling to complain about 'Reily's sloppy seconds' as Mindy was often called. He looked to the face of the phone as his eyes lit up. "Ru!" He whispered. He opened the phone and raised it to his ear, "Ru?"

"_Hola, hermano querido. ¿Usted me faltó?_" **(Spanish: ****Hello, dear brother. Did you miss me?)**

"_¡Sí! Por supuesto, Ru._" **(Spanish: Yes! Of course I did, Ru.)** "So, how is the dance team shaping up this year?"

"We got a lot of great freshmen this year. I think that Dade County will go really far. At least I hope we will." Ru replied.

"Ruby, I think that all the credit of all future of success goes directly to their captain." Ruby laughed and thanked him, "I'll try to make it down to see you in person, but make sure Aunt Adora gets it all on tape."

"Of course I will, Luis."

"Thanks Ru. I want a full account of all..." Luis turned his head when someone tapped him on the shoulder. Mindy was standing with her arms crossed over her chest. "Ru," Luis sighed, here we go, "I have to go, I'll see you soon."

"Oh, okay. Bye." She was confused and a little hurt, causing Luis to hate his situation even more.

"Bye, _Te quiero, Ru._" **(Spanish: I love you, Ru.)** He closed his phone and sighed, "Hey Min, how was the quiz."

"Small talk?" Mindy asked snottily, "Who the hell was that? Some girl that you see from time to time? Just a 'friend'? Well?"

"That was my sister, Ruby." Luis replied as he tried to keep a cool head about things, man this girl could get annoying when she wanted to, "I told you about her."

"Yeah, sister, whatever."

"Now wait just _un minuto,_" Luis spat, "what exactly are you accusing me of?" The look in Mindy's eyes was all he needed to know what she thought about him, "Mindy, I have always been totally and undeniably faithful. You on the other hand have shown that you would prefer to give Kip Dickerson a tongue bath and a lap dance."

"What!" Mindy screeched.

"You know what, do what you want." Luis shot back, "It's over, I really have way too much drama in my life without a hypocrite blaming me for cheating when I have never done so in my life." Luis turned on his heel and stalked away without looking back. This was a bad day, Luis prayed it would be over soon.

"LUIS!" A voice called causing him to turn to his left. It was Tarah Oldman, from his Creative Writing class, "Hey."

"Hey, Tarah."

"Look, I was wondering if you could do me a favor." She said. Luis nodded and shrugged, "Okay, Lucille and I are going to be in gone next Thursday and Friday for All-State tryouts. Seeing as you are the only remotely reliable person in Creative Writing, would you mind letting us borrow your notes on Friday night. I swear we will get them back to you first thing Monday morning."

"Sure."

"Thanks, Luis. You're a life-saver."

"Well, I couldn't let you fail Creative Writing. That class is set on the notes that we take." Tarah nodded in agreement and left with a wave. Luis walked in the other direction and soon found himself in a gaggle of Ducks in a tiny and enclosed space, just what he needed to cheer him up.

"Yo Luis!" Terry and Jesse were there as well. Piper was sitting with Julie, being the completely opposite, yet surprisingly cohesive, sisters that they were. "What's up man? You looked wiped out?"

"Oh, I'm fine." Luis replied sarcastically, not in the mood for banter, "I mean just because my life sucked before I broke up with Mindy and now it sucks even more doesn't mean that anything it wrong!" He sunk into a chair and placed his head in his hands and began to massage his temples. "A Bash Brother, I don't care which one, hit me as hard as you can." He mumbled.

Ken and Fulton looked to one another, weighing their options. "Um, where's Portman?" Ken asked looking around the group, "He was just here a second ago?"

"Probably ran off to be depressed like he's been doing lately. Anyone know why?" Max asked. No one replied because no one knew. No one but Julie, and she knew that Dean would tell them in his own time. "Well, I'm starting to think that..."

"Who has someone got a crush on?" Dean's voice rang though the room. He was questioning, truly trying to figure out the answer to what he was asking about. It wasn't going to take long.

"I never said anything about anyone having a crush!" Dani's voice yelled back as she got closer to the room. Well, maybe it would take just a teeny-tiny bit longer then it normally might. Dani walked into their room and slammed to door open, "So just leave me alone!"

"Dan. Are you kidding me?" Dean asked, "Who?" Dani shook her head in protest, but Dean knew what to do. He flicked his eyes from one teammate to the other, back to Dani in between each one. If her left eye twitched a little, he had just hit the bullseye. Every time her looked back to her he could tell that she was bitting her lip a little harder. Finally he looked back to her and... twitch, twitch, "GOLDIE! Someone has a crush on Goldberg?"

This was priceless. Dani looked ready to hit someone, Dean was relishing in his success, all of the Ducks were looking from them to Goldberg, who was caught halfway in lifting a slice of pizza to his mouth, frozen in shock, flicking his eyes around at the people surrounding him. "I never said that." Dani replied hopelessly.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen, means 'yes' in Dani-world." Max said as he slapped palms with Dean. Dani narrowed her eye and smacked them both as hard as she could on the back of the head.

"Go to hell, I hate you two." Dani replied before leaving the room.

(-------)

Dani sat against the doorway of her class room, writing in a huge notebook. The story she was writing was inspired by a set of pictures that Cami had drawn that involved a seal wearing a beanie with a propeller on top. Dani was never sure were some of Cami's pictures had come from.

"Hi." A voice said, pulling her out of her daze. She looked up and saw Adam, smiling a small smile. Man, he looked really hot at the moment, in more then one meaning of the word. He was sweating and he was wearing a short sleeved shirt and jeans. Very nice looking jeans from were Dani was... Bad Dani!

"Oh, hi." Dani replied as she stood up, "What's up?"

"Nothing really. You?" Adam shook his head, "Oh, come on, you have nothing to say about anything?"

"Why? You don't." Adam teased.

"Ha ha." Dani replied, "All I know is that I think that Dean Buckley is trying to kill Tommy, Tammy, me, and our tutor." Adam raised his eyebrows in question, "The heat in that room is unable to turn off and the A/C can't turn on," She replied, pointing over her shoulder with her thumb, "Or so he says."

"Ah, I see." Adam replied as Dani bent down to pick up her notebook. When she came back up they, in some way, ended up extremely close. Adam couldn't help but notice that Dani had gorgeous eyes. "I... I..." Adam tried to speak, but couldn't get the words out before he leaned over and kissed her. Unfortunately, it didn't last very long, he pulled away, "Dani, I'm sorry, I..." He began to turn but Dani grabbed his arm.

"I hate when you do that." Dani mumbled as she looked into his eyes, noticing the confusion at her statement. Dani pulled him back down to her and kissed him again. Once he lost his confusion, Adam kissed her back and put his hands around her waist. Her hands had rested on his arms and he could feel her long nails on his skin. Dani pulled away and smiled, "Not bad, but then again, I already knew that."

"Dani, I don't think that we..." Dani cut him off by placing another small kiss on his lips.

"Adam, I can see that this is the trouble of the ever popular misconception that my brother runs my life. He doesn't, nor does he have much say in it at all. So stop worrying so much." She kissed him again and pulled back with her hands tracing up his arms, "So, I can also see that _you_ aren't going to say anything. So. Do you want to go out. With me. On Saturday. Alone. On a date."

"Sure." Adam replied, shocked by her request, "That's be great."

"Cool." Dani said as she untangled herself from Adam's arms, "See you then." She waved and left. Adam was ready to fly, this was the greatest day of his life.


	25. More then Amazing

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(----------)

**mdgirl18-** Yup, they finally got together. Well, in a sense they did, because this is just the first date. I happy that you're happy that they finally got past the first stage of their relationship. The part with Goldberg was actually a dream I had after I watched the second movie at a friend of mine's house. I didn't know were the dream _really _came from, but I thought that it would be funny in the story.

Thank you to PrincessH, Lilmonkey1507, and BrokenAngel1753.

(-------)

Saturday. The day Dani had been waiting for had dropped down to the hour that she was waiting for. Her mind, while still on Adam and his ungodly perfect kissing, was also fixed on her skating. If it wasn't, then she was completely screwed, because messing up was not an option at the moment. She stopped when her watch beeped a four and skated over to the boards, catching a Gatorade that Tammy threw in her direction.

Tammy smiled and took a drink, "So, what are we going to do tonight? Go to the Mall of America, eat hot dogs, and ride the roller coasters until we puke?" She asked as she recapped the bottle. **(Remind anyone of anything?)**

"Maybe for you, babe." Dani replied, "I've got a date tonight." Tammy's eyed narrowed in question. Gia skated up to them and grabbed a third Gatorade, "I'll see you after, though."

"See us after what?" Gia asked. She looked from Dani to Tammy, going back and forth for several moments. "Did I miss something?"

"Yup." Dani said, "I have a date tonight."

"With who?" Gia and Tammy asked simultaneously. It was clear that they were hoping she said Adam.

Dani laughed, she loved keeping information these two. She lifted both hands in the air, "Tell them..." She mumbled, dipping her left hand like a scale, "Don't tell them." She mumbled again, dipping her right in the same manner. "Tell them, don't. Tell them, don't." Gia, who could get quickly irritated if she wanted to, grabbed a hold to Dani's left wrist and pushed it down, "Well, fine! Be like that." Dani replied in mock pain and tears, "Do you really want to know?"

"Yes!" Gia retorted.

"You sure?"

"DANI!" Tammy screamed.

"Okay, okay." Dani said, "Last Monday, I asked Adam out." Dani held her ears as Tammy and Gia squealed; damn they were loud. "Now I hope that I can hear him tonight."

"Dani?" Tammy asked as Dani pulled her hands away from her ears. Looking passed Tammy and Gia, their coach and Tommy were watching them with a lot of interest, more then likely because of the squealing "Details. Now!"

"Like what?" Dani asked innocently. She just didn't want to give too many details, but she knew what they would ask.

"Oh, I don't know." Gia said, feigning wonder, "Like... when on Monday did you ask him out? Where are you going? What are you going to be doing? Are you going to be a good girl, or let it all hang out?" Dani snorted out of her nose and slapped her hand to her forehead. Gia would be the first to ask her that. In fact, she had before.

"After hockey practice..." Dani began.

"Wasn't he, like, all hot and sweaty and stuff?" Tammy asked.

"Sweaty, yes." Dani replied, "Hot, in more then one connotation of the word and very." Gia choked slightly on her Gatorade and Tammy giggled. "But that isn't the point, so don't interrupt me if you want any more details then you currently have." Silence, "Thank you. On Wednesday he told me about this restaurant in St. Paul called Tanpopo, he thought I would like it."

"I think I've heard of that." Tammy said, "Is it remotely close to Mickey's?" Dani shrugged, "I think mom took a couple of business colleagues there." Dani noticed that Tammy's voice went deep and angry when she mentioned her mother. Dani raised her eyebrow in question, "No, Dani. I haven't talked to Fulton since our date went down the tube. He probably doesn't want to talk to me anyways."

"Are you kidding me?" Dani asked, exasperated, "The boy is crazy about you! He's like 'Oh-my-God-I-love-you-and-I-want-to-marry-and-grow-old-with-you-and-have-great-kids-with-your-nose-and-your-hair-and-your-face-and-my-last-name'. He's probably out buying the his-and-hers towels right now!"

"You got that from Anger Management and How to Lose a Guy In 10 Days." Tammy moaned.

"Well, yeah, I did. But it fits." Dani sighed, Tammy was a sweet girl, but man was she ever stubborn. "Tammy, trust me on this, he likes you. I mean he really, really likes you." Dani looked back over to her coach, "Oh, Becky and older Coach Orion." Gia and Tammy laughed. Ted Orion was really touchy about his age, so whenever they reminded him he was three years older then he brother, his jaw would twitch. It was rather funny. "Hello all." Dani said as she stopped next to her coach.

"Hi Dani." Becky replied. "Gia, Tammy." They both waved. They liked Becky well enough, but Dani was much more adapted to having a bunch of ten-year-olds around. Becky looked passed them, into the stands, "Who's that?" The four on the ice turned around.

"Joey!" Dani, Tammy, and Gia called out. Their coach was about to faint, while his brother and niece identically cocked their heads in question. Joey was a thin women of average height, with pale skin and bright blond hair that was liberally streaked with red. She, as always, was carrying a pair of skates over her shoulder. Dani tapped her coach's shoulder and handed him a CD that she had made the night before.

"Your welcome." She said, but when he took the CD he wasn't sure if she had meant what she had said because she made him the CD with the songs he needed to practice with Joey, or if she was reminding him that she was Cupid, "That was for the CD coach." Dani replied. She sighed and shook her head.

"Are you a mind reader or something?" He asked.

"Oh, yes." Dani said sarcastically, "I know all, I see all." She skated over to the center of the ice and did a triple axle the rest of the way, greeting Joey with a smile as she put on her skates.

"Eric?"

"What Ted?"

"She looks 25."

"Looks can be deceiving."

"You're 42."

"And you're 45."

"Um, Uncle Eric?" Becky asked, hoping to stop the impending argument, "What's her name?"

"Josephine Cartier."

"Josephine Cartier? I know that name, she's a pairs skater and she's retiring after this year. Her partner's an idiot." Eric nodded, "Isn't she 30?"

"Yes." He replied, monotonously.

"12..." Ted nearly shouted, but he got control over himself as he watched his brother skate over to a women 12 years his junior and kiss her lightly on the lips. "I need so much therapy."

(-------)

"Hey stranger." A voice said, making Adam jump out of his seat in the bus stop. "I'm sorry, did I scare you?"

"Well, you are scary." Adam joked. As he stood up and kissed Dani gently on the cheek, "Are you ready?" Dani smiled and nodded but she was thinking something along the lines of _'Am I ready? I've been ready since our little encounter on the bus!' _"Good, I really like you'll like this place. Just because you're so open minded."

"If you really want to take a girl out who you think is open minded, take her to get Ethiopian food." Dani replied, smiling.

"I'll remember that." He said, "But, why Ethiopian food?"

"You eat it with your hands and a hunk of bread, no silverware." Adam smiled. Dani could tell that he was wondering what any other girl would have done if he said that they were going to a Japanese restaurant, and on the second date they were going to get Ethiopian. _'Wait a minute...Second date? Getting a little ahead of yourself there, Dani.' _

Dani's thoughts left her no time to watch were she and Adam were going, so when they got to Tanpopo, Dani was a little surprised that they were already there. "So," Dani said as the waitress took them to a table, "how did you find out about this place?"

"My mom told me about it. She and her friends come here from time to time." Dani looked up at Adam while she held her menu diagonally on the edge of the table, "Only in passing. She started raving about it three months ago."

"Oh." Dani said in relief. She really didn't want Mrs. Banks to know that she and Adam were out on a date. Not unless things got more serious between them, "Does this mean that we have the chance of running into your mother on our first date?"

A siren went off in Adam's head. Had she just implied that she wanted to go out again? Or was he just being paranoid? "Um, no. Mom and her friends only go out on Fridays, unless it's business related or one of Dad's dinner meetings. And then, they go to an obscenely expensive place that normal people choose not to go to so that they can pay the rent or buy dinner for the night after."

"Are you saying that your parents are not normal?" Dani asked. Adam nodded, causing Dani to snort out a laugh. "Sounds like something I would say." Adam laughed in return as Dani looked down at her menu again, "What the hell is this stuff?"

"I have no idea, but mom recommend the Beef or Chicken Soba or Udon." Dani nodded, "I just have to trust her, I guess." Dani smiled and looked out the windows that they were sitting a few tables away from. The blood drained from her face. "Dani?"

She just sat low in her seat with her hands cupped on either side of her face, "What the fuck, no! What are they doing here? Just pass the door and don't come in." Adam looked over to the window and saw a couple walking passed. The guy had dark brown hair, a stubbly beard, and he was tall and skinny and gangly. The girl had blond hair, but the three inches from the root was dark brown, she was wearing little more then a bra and and boy shorts, and she was chomping like a cow on a large amount of gum. "Cheap Slut. Fucking Bastard."

"Dani, who are they?"

Dani sighed and placed her head in her hands, "That is my ex-boyfriend, Wilson. The skank-eteer is his current girlfriend, Maria. I swear they are trying to make me go _loco_. Why are they always in town?"

"Dani, if you want to go, I'll understand." Adam responded, moving to stand up.

"Adam Banks, sit your ass down right now!" Adam happily complied. He knew that Wilson and Maria were subjects not to be touched on, but he was happy that Dani still wanted to be on their date. The waitress came over and asked them if they were ready to order, "Yes, I'll have the Beef Soba, please."

"Chicken Udon, thanks."

**(For anyone who wants to know, Tanpopo is a real place, those foods are on the menu, and they are very good. I recommend them for anyone visiting St. Paul!)**

(--------)

After what turned out to be a very good meal, Dani and Adam left with time to spare without anyone worrying about them, so they just walked and talked. "So, what is Chicago like?" Adam asked, "I've never been."

"That depends which part of Chicago you're talking about." Dani replied sadly. Adam stopped and looked at her, confused, "My family used to live in this really crappy apartment in Chicago's South Side. My parents wouldn't let Alec leave the house unless he was going to school or hockey practice, and even then he had to go with one of them. But we moved when Dean and I were five, so everything worked out. Mostly."

"Mostly?" Adam asked.

"Alec, Dean and I had a friend named Dominique Benny, who lived two doors down from us." Dani said, unsure of why she was talking about this particular subject. She figured it was because Adam was easy to talk to, "Well, he was fine one day. That night there was a shooting while he was running errands for his grandmother, who took care of him. We heard the cops telling Ma'am Benny that Dom had been killed."

"Ma'am?"

Dani laughed, "Everyone called her that. I just figured it was her name, so I have no objections. Dom would have been 21 last July 25th, the day I came here."

"He was Jamie's age." Adam replied unconsciously, wondering what his life would have been like if Jamie had been killed at such a young age.

Dani snapped out of her stroll down memory lane, "So, lets talk about something else, because I'm sure that a my past is not all that interesting." Adam smiled, noticing that she was not wanting to continue this conversation. She sighed heavily.

"You okay?" Adam asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just craving something salty, sweet, crunchy, and chewy all at the same time." Dani rolled her eyes, "And I just sounded like a freaking Taco Bell commercial."

Adam laughed, she could make a joke out of anything. He reached into his jacket pocket and felt a wrapper with something in it. He pulled it out and it happened to be a package of Take 5's. "Here. You have one, I'll take the other. I'm sure it meets all of your requirements."

"Thanks Adam." Dani replied as she watched Adam open the package carefully and hold it out for her to take one of the candies. He pulled out his and before he had a chance to eat his, Dani spoke, "Cheers." Adam got the joke and pretended to clink his with hers. Dani bit into the candy and smiled contently, "Yum, chocolate and pretzels. The greatest combination since pretzels and mustard."

"Do you like pretzels?" Adam asked sarcastically, knowing the clear answer.

"What was your first clue, sweetie?" Dani retorted. She was joking, but Adam was having a hard time getting passed being called 'sweetie'. "Are you okay?" Dani asked.

"Yeah I'm fine." Adam replied as he watched a lone raindrop fall onto Dani's face. She smiled and looked up as the rain started to fall harder. Man she was beautiful. "Dani, should we go?"

"No! I love the rain." She called over the splashes falling around them. She pulled off her light jacket and threw it onto a bench that she was standing next to, and started to run around in the rain. Odd girl. Beautiful, but odd. Although it just made her more intriguing to Adam, she made him think. That was what he wanted in a girl. "Come on, Adam. You aren't scared of the rain, are you?"

"No." Adam replied, "I just don't..."

"Oh, stop being a baby. Get over here." Adam opened his mouth to protest, but Dani didn't let him, "I still think that you are scared." She had a devious smile on her face and a gleam in her eyes. Adam didn't attempt to object, he just ran after her.

Dani laughed as she back away. Finally, she turned and ran as he tried to catch her. Eventually Adam caught Dani's wrist gently and spun her around. This caused both of them to fall in the patch of mud that they were standing on, they were covered. "Oh look what you've done!" Dani said snottily, "Now I have to get my hair and nails done again." Adam laughed as he realized that she was joking. Thank God!

"I'm sure you'll survive." Adam taunted back. Dani smiled as Adam moved closer, "I didn't hurt you, did I?" He asked in genuine concern. She shook her head no and he smiled in relief. Without much thought, Adam placed his hand on the side of Dani's face and pushed her hair out of her face and behind her ears.

"Thanks." Dani replied to his gesture as she tenderly held onto his wrist and pulled his hand away from her face. Adam scooted closer to her, pulling his arm away from her, and ran his hand down her arms.

What Adam didn't know was the affect he was having on Dani. She was getting goosebumps from his touch, not the rain, and she wanted nothing more then for him to kiss her again. Her muscles didn't want to work and she didn't stand for the sheer fact that her legs didn't remember how. Adam was perfection, with his hair sticking to his face, and his body covered in rain. His jacket was getting soaked and it soon covered him not much better then a white tee-shirt would have, not that any complaining was happening anywhere.

Adam finally stopped running his hand over her arm and rested his hand on her neck. He pulled her closer to him then she was and kissed her. Dani complied to what he was doing as she placed her hand on the back of his head and moaned as he deepened the kiss. The rain only heightened the experience, changing the taste of their mouths, to differ them from the last three kisses they had experienced together.

They pulled away when the sound of church bells ripped them from their fantasy. Adam smiled and placed another tiny kiss just on the tips of Dani's lips. He stood and helped her off of the ground, "I think we should get going. Knowing my parents, they have already freaked out about where I am and have called the cops."

"Yeah, maybe." Dani replied. They walked hand and hand to the bus stop at which they had met and went off in their separate directions, but not before one last little kiss.

When Dani got back to Eden Hall, she was soaking wet, muddy, and extremely happy. She walked into the her dorm building and slowly walked up the stairs from the kitchen to the upper levels that housed her and her fellow figure skaters... and Tommy. Poor, poor Tommy. Dani walked into her room and kept the light off so that Tammy and Gia could sleep. That didn't work out to well.

"Freaking A, son of a bitch!" Dani fumed as she tried to stop the immense pain in her leg that had collided with Tammy's dresser. "Ow!" The light flicked on, momentarily blinding Dani.

"What the biscuits and gravy happened to you?" Gia's voice asked. That was Gia, biscuits and gravy. Don't ask why, because no one will ever know, "Dani?"

"Did someone enjoy tonight?" Tammy asked with a hint of laughter in her voice.

"Actually, yes, I did." Dani replied. "I had a wonderful dinner, went on a nice walk, and rolled around in the rain and mud with an amazingly sweet and gorgeous guy." Tammy raised her eyebrows, "I know, you want to do it with Fulton, but while you dream about that, I need to take a shower." Tammy laughed and pulled a pillow our from under her and aimed, before remembering that Dani was sopping wet and covered in mud.

"How was it?"

Dani bit her lip and smiled, "The greatest day of my life." She admitted before she pulled out her pajamas and walked into the bathroom. What neither Adam nor Dani knew was that they both had the same thought. _'The greatest day of my life. Absolutely amazing.'_


	26. Conspirators

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

T-------T

**PrincessH-** Why thank you, I tried to make that a happy/sweet chapter. Glad it worked. Fulton and Tammy's date couldn't go that well because, well, they are Tammy and Fulton. Polar opposites that have the world against them, trying to pry them apart. Lets hope that they don't let that minor detail get them down.

**mdgirl18-** Adam and Dani did have a nice date, I do hope it was as affective as I had hoped for it to be. In the summary, yes, I did mention a stalker; that will come into play soon. As for Julie, Dean, and Goldberg, they have not been forgotten either, it just may take some time, I picked three rather stubborn Ducks to work with.

**daydreamrose-** You love me? That's nice to know. I would normally respond 'I love you, too', but that would seem a little weird, so just thank you. I guess I will have to keep your birthday in mind. As for Julie and Dean, I haven't exactly decided whether I will make their relationship go farther then a crush. Gia and Dean? I don't think that would work, as Gia is 28 and engaged; plus it wouldn't go with what I have planned for her later in the story. But thanks for the honest input.

**nilber-** First of all, thanks for the review. I have said it before and I will say it again, I love new reviewers. I'm glad that you like all of the pairings and that you can't wait for the next chapter. I am also happy that Adam and Dani are your favorite.

(-------)

The Ducks sat at their normal table in the cafeteria for lunch, chatting about nothing in particular, until Averman spoke up, "Luis, have you noticed that Mindy has been sending you death glares for the past half hour?"

Luis groaned and glanced over at the table that the cheerleaders and dance squad, both of which Mindy was captain of, sat at, "She'll get over it." He muttered, "See, look. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1." At one he pointed to Mindy as a tall, burly, blond haired boy with muddy brown eyes pulled her from her seat by her by the wrist, smashed her into his chest, and slapped her on the backside. Luis sighed, shaking his head, and turned back to face his food.

"Who in holy hell is that?" Fulton asked, his eyebrows crashing together to form one.

"Kip Dickerson." Luis replied dryly. He brought his milk to his mouth and harshly whispered, "Probably been sleeping together for months now."

"Whoa, Luis. That's a little harsh, don't ya think?" Dwayne asked, "I know Mindy isn't the easiest person to live with, but would she do something like that?"

"Cowboy," Luis retorted, "she blamed me for cheating on her because I was talking on the phone with another girl. A girl that happened to be my older sister. Trust me, she would."

"Excuse me." A small voice timidly cut through, "Luis?" Luis turned around and saw Tarah standing behind him, holding his Creative Writing notes that he had loaned her, "I just wanted to return these and say thanks." She held out the notebook in her hands and he thanked her. She smiled and looked around the group before turning bright red and hurriedly running back to her table with the other members of the band.

"Are all band geeks that weird?" Russ asked as he watched Tarah's retreating back. Dean laughed lightly and shook his head. "What?"

"Say that around Dani and she will do one of two things depending on her mood. A) Kick your ass, or B) Say thank you." Dean looked around at his confused friends. "Dani has been 'Band Geek of the Year' since we were in the 6th grade."

"Dani is in band?" Adam asked.

"Yeah." Dean replied, "Marching and concert."

"What does she play?" Connie asked.

"Oboe, flute, and piccolo." Dean responded, "Oboe is her concert instrument, and her baby as she calls it. The flute and piccolo are for marching, although she plays the wailing annoyance more then the flute because rarely anyone else will play it."

"Wailing annoyance?" Guy asked as he raised his blond eyebrows.

"Have you ever heard a piccolo?" Guy shook his head no, "Trust me on this."

(-------)

After hockey practice, Dean wandered off on his own, consumed by his thoughts. He truly wanted to tell the team about his dad and why he had been so distant lately, but it was easier said then done. Not all of them were Julie, after all, she was just so much easier to talk to then most people. Not to mention she was sweet and funny and gorgeous and... _'Shut up, brain.' _Dean commanded.

Without thinking, Dean opened a random door that he had come too and walked in. What looked like the back of Julie was in front of him, but it was wearing large, black pants with chains on them, Piper. She was listening to an iPod and singing along to the song she was listening to; a song Dean knew rather well.

"What a lot of fun, you guys have been real... swell." She snapped her fingers, "And there's not a one who can say this," Two snaps, "ended well. All those secrets you've been concealing, say you're happy now..."

Dean snapped his fingers once, getting Piper's attention, "Once more with feeling." Piper raised her eyebrows as Dean continued, "Now I gotta run. See you all... in HE-E-E-E-E-E-E-L-L-L-L-L-L!"

Piper pulled her earphones out of her ears, "You've seen 'Once More With Feeling'?"

Dean smiled, "My family owns the 7-season-box set of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. And all five seasons of Angel, and all of Firefly, even the unaired episodes."

"That's it." Piper sighed, "I'm going to marry you."

Dean laughed, knowing that she was joking, but played along, "Sure." He shrugged, "Just don't let cat-lady hear you saying that, she might kill us both."

Piper mockingly gaped open her mouth, "Why? You guys aren't attached are you?" She placed her hand on her chin and bit her lip. Dean laughed again, this girl was weird, she reminded him of a blond Dani. Wait, blond Dani! Bad, bad, bad; she would never dye her hair.

"Ha ha, no." Dean replied. He secretly thought his disappointment. Piper nodded and looked at her watch, "What?" Dean asked noticing the blood rush from her face.

"It's nothing really." Piper replied calmly, "I just remembered that my mom and dad are going to be coming today." She sighed, "To see how I'm adjusting and stuff. Even though they asked me millions of questions over the weekend. Parents are strange."

"Yes they are. Also, I guess you had better be going then." Dean said, "Where are you going to be meeting them?"

"Gym."

"Oh." Dean hesitated, "That would involve passing the ex-Varsity weekly basketball game on the outside court... I'll walk you." Piper gave him a questioning look, "I don't want you to die of fright or choking on your own puke. They play shirts and skins and I am positive that you don't want to see that." Piper scrunched up her face and tensed her hands before reaching to her throat.

"Them. Shirts and skins. Eww, eww, ewwwwwwwwww!" She shuttered, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

"Not a problem." Dean said. He opened the door for her and they walked towards the gym. Dean knew that most people would be surprised if they saw him open a door for a girl, but he was a gentleman when he wanted to be. He just preferred not to disclose every detail about himself to others. "Where did you move from, anyways?"

"Illinois. Well, originally Maine, obviously, but I moved with my mom to Peoria, Illinois after that."

"No kiddin'." Dean replied as he stopped suddenly, "I'm from Chi Town."

Piper gasped and smiled, "I absolutely love Chicago!" It was obvious that she was mentally kicking herself. After a second Piper mumbled, "Damn it, if you were my type..." She scowled for a moment and continued walk. Dean finally got movement back in his legs and raced back to her.

"Um, what is your type... exactly?"

Piper sighed and stopped, "Promise you won't make fun of me?" Dean nodded and held up his right hand like a boy scout, "Were you ever a scout?" Dean shook his head no, "Whatever. Well... nerds."

"Nerds? In what sense of the word?"

"The literal sense, I guess. There's just something about a big brain and glasses that..."

"Enough over share!" Dean spout out, cutting her off, "By any chance, you don't have a deep, abiding love of red hair do you?"

Piper furrowed her eyebrows, confused, "Um, I don't really have much of a preference when it comes to hair color or anything of that sort."

Dean shuttered and patted Piper on the shoulder, "Well be extremely careful then." Okay, what the hell was he talking about? Wait a minute... glasses, nerd, red hair... that seemed familiar. Wait a second, WHAT?

Piper reached over and slapped Dean on the back of the head, "Dean!" She exclaimed, "I highly, and I mean HIGHLY, doubt I will ever go out with anyone that is my sister's teammate... for fear of their lives. So don't freak yourself out with thoughts of me and Averman." Dean shuttered and stayed silent, "Wait, what's that?" Piper asked as they walked past a gravel lot painted like a football field.

"The band." Dean replied, pointing to the mass of students assembled on the gravel lot.

"Not bad."

"Yeah." Dean said, "Except that the whole alto line is sharp, the trumpets are playing out _way _too much, and the biggest surprise, the percussion aren't playing out at all... you can barely hear them."

"And how did you become a band know-it-all?" Piper asked.

"Sister." Dean responded simply, "Dani has been in band since the 6th grade, so I have been around a lot of band in my life time."

"Full of surprises."

"You got it, babe."

"Wait!" Piper called as the duo reached the gym door and Dean went to open it for them. She looked through the glass and saw that the Ducks and Scooter were inside... perfect! "Dean... pick me up!"

"What?" Dean asked, confused at her request.

"Pick me up like you are going to carry me over the threshold. I want to freak out Julie." Dean smiled, this was creative and Julie's reaction would be priceless. He dipped down and placed his arms behind Piper's legs and behind her back as she wrapped her arms around his neck to allow him to open the door.

"Damn, did you put these chains in a freezer or something?"

"Oh, stop being such a whiny little bitch."

"Sailor."

"Why thank you." Piper retorted, smiling. Dean pulled open the door and walked in. The thing was that that particular door was so squeaky that Dean was quite sure he had heard in in Chicago a few times. It was sure to get the attention of everyone in the room. And it did.

"Hi guys." Dean said as he grinned from ear to ear.

"Piper... Portman... What the hell?" Julie asked, shell shocked. She flicked her eyes from one to the other whilst Scooter looked ready to grab a hold of her if she started shaking uncontrollably.

"Jules..." Piper said, "I think that you've met my future husband, right?"

The blood rushed from Julie's face, "NO! No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! Portman put her down... right now!" Well this was certainly entertaining, for anyone that wasn't Julie or Scooter at the moment.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so." Piper said in a semi-mocking tone, "I mean, how could I say no to a guy that has all seven seasons of 'Buffy' on DVD, not to mention all of Angel and Firefly."

"Oh, now that injured me." Dean added, playing along, "Here I thought you wanted me for my manly body and charming demeanor."

Piper placed her hand on her chin and continued, "Well, yes you have a nice demeanor, but if we are to be married then you, my dear sir, will have to thin out. I have always envisioned my husband to be _lean_ not a psychopathic-gym-rat."

Dean gasped indignantly, "Dean Portman leans down for nobody! Dean Portman is a one of a kind, an individual. So sorry shortness, take it or leave it."

"Oh please stop." Julie begged.

"We should be nice, shouldn't we?" Piper asked, looking at Dean. He nodded, "I thank you, kind sir, for the ride, but please let me down." Dean obliged and they both dramatically bowed. "Julie, come with me. I want you to see something." Piper said as she grabbed a hold of Julie's arm and pulled her along. Only Dean knew that she was taking Julie to see the mother that she hadn't seen since she was a little child, and he was glad to know something that other's didn't for once.

(---------)

Adam had been walking alone for a what seemed like 2300 hours, but it was more like 1½. All of the other Ducks were either doing homework, procrastinating their homework, cuddling (in the case of Guy and Connie, shutter at the thought), or with Piper as Julie was. Adam didn't need any of the Ducks loud antics to keep him occupied right now, his thoughts were doing a rather good job of that in and of themselves. Well, to a certain point.

Adam wasn't comprehending were he was at the moment, but was brought back to life were a hand grasped his upper arm, turning him around, and planted a gentle kiss on his lips. As the lips pulled away, Adam smiled, "Nice to see you too." He whispered, "You really know who to get a guy attention."

"Only those special ones." Dani replied. When she was happy, she smiled and bit her lip, and Adam had no objections to her doing it now. "How was your day?"

"Good." Adam said, "Although I think it just got better." Dani smiled, that was such a sweet thing to say, and did he know exactly how well that polo shirt fit him? Well, if not, then it's best to leave things as they are.

"Thanks." Dani managed to get out, "Look, Adam, I had a really great time on Saturday."

"I did too."

"And I would love to go out again..."

"You would?"

"Yes, you seem surprised." Dani said, somewhat confused. Did he not want to go out with her again?

"No, it's not that. It's just that I would too."

Dani smiled again, but the smile drooped and she lowered her gaze, "But, I can't right now." Adam asked why, "It's Tammy. She's been so miserable lately and I want to be there for her. It's a thing with me, if a friend it miserable then I can't be Princess Mary Sunshine."

"Well, first of all, I couldn't see you being Princess Mary Sunshine anyways." Dani laughed, it was true, "And secondly, I completely understand. But one question, why is Tammy miserable? She's in the Olympics for goodness sakes."

"The Olympics has nothing to do with it." Dani replied, shaking her head, "She'll probably kill me for saying this, but she and Fulton went on a date shortly before we did and it tanked."

"Why? They like each other, don't they?"

"Oh yeah!" Dani said, "But it still went bad. I mean first there was the milkshake, then there was her mother badmouthing hockey, the Ducks, me..." Adam's eyes grew, "Ah, I don't listen to anything she says, that's what I have my mom for. But I digress, apparently she talked about 'suitable' men for Tammy, right in front of Fulton and a lot of other crap."

"Wow, poor Tammy." Adam muttered sympathetically. "Poor Fulton, Tammy was one of the first to welcome him to the D-5 Ducks from what I hear, no wonder they like each other. Their date really went that bad?"

"Yeah, now I have to think of a way to get them talking to each other again. Tammy thinks that Fulton never wants to go out with her again and I have no doubt that Fulton feels the same way."

A light bulb went off in Adam's head, "I think I can help you with that."

"Really?" Dani asked as she smiled conspiratorially, "Well, then by all means, do tell."


	27. Beauty Days and Sleeping Over

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**RIP MuM i love you so much-** Thanks, I'm glad that you liked what happened. I thought that the interaction between Piper and Dean would be a funny add-in that people would like, glad you did.

**PrincessH-** Getting Tammy and Fulton to talk to each other will be the most awkward part of the whole plan, trust me on that. I'm glad that you thought that the last chapter was great, I tried to do well.

(-------)

Dani watched Tammy do a double Lutz across the ice. Adam had given her a wonderful idea the Monday before, and she had the perfect amount of time to figure out how to execute it. It was the Saturday before Eden Hall's fall break, so Dani had a week before Fulton would be back in the general vicinity. Adam's plan involved getting the two in the same room, alone, and forcing them to talk; and a locked closet door if either Tammy or Fulton were feeling uncooperative.

Dani skated over to her coach as he called all three of them over to him and the three envelopes he held in his hands. She, as well as the others, were eying them curiously because he seemed oddly protective of them. "Thank you, Ladies. You have been doing wonderfully. Therefore, I am giving you the rest of the day off."

Dani raised her eyebrows, "Coach, are you out of your mind? It isn't even one yet." She glanced down at her watch that read, 12:34 pm.

"Yeah," Tammy agreed, "Did you eat something that was bad for you?" Her tone was that of mock mother-worry.

"I don't see why you two are complaining." Gia said, laughing, "So, what's with the envelopes?"

He nodded, "These are for you. For all of your hard work." All three grabbed at the white parcels in his hands, but he jumped back to that they couldn't get them, "Anxious, aren't we?" They all nodded, "Well, here you go." He passed one to each of them and braced himself for the next sound.

"Oh my God!" Tammy squealed, "Spa day passes?" Gia stared blankly at her pass, wondering if it was real or if she was dreaming. Dani stared with her mouth dropped open.

"Enjoy ladies."

Dani finally spoke again, but this time she was accusing, "This has nothing to do with the fact that it's Joey's birthday today is it?"

"You don't care for my kindness?"

"Oh, she cares!" Gia and Tammy called out, "She really cares." Tammy hit Dani in the small of the back.

"It was a simple question." Dani snapped back, knowing that she was at least a little bit on the right path, and her coach knew it.

He sighed, "Look, I have been wanting to give you three something to show my appreciation for all of your hard work over the past few months, I've had a lot of adjusting to do, and you helped me." He said seriously, before comically adding, "And the fact that it's Joey's birthday only makes the pot sweeter for me." Dani shook her head, Tammy laughed lightly, and Gia swatted him on the shoulder (as she was the closest to his age).

"Now, I don't know about you guys," Dani stated, "but I could really use a facial and a pedicure."

"I am right their with you, babe." Tammy said as she stepped off of the ice and began to unlace her skates. Gia nodded and followed her lead, skating and sitting next to her. "Oh yeah, guys. Tommy is having dinner with my parents, so we won't see him."

Gia nodded and Dani replied, "Cool." She glanced at her coach, "So, you go and get your girl for whatever romantic mush fest you have planned." He gave her a sarcastic look and was turning around until he heard Gia speak in a low whisper.

"Just don't do anything that her brother would do."

"And just what is that? Not many restrictions there." Tammy said back.

"Exactly. Ow!" Gia rubbed her upper arm where Dani had hit her as she had been walking passed.

(----------)

"Wow." Dani said as she walked into the large and ornately decorated spa that her coach had sent her to. "Talk about swag. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jessica Simpson or someone here."

A stuffy chuckle made Dani jump and her teammates turn, "Well, our clientèle doesn't reach _that _far up on the social hierarchy, but some rather formidable and well know locals enjoy our services. I'm Cecilia Blake, I'll be assisting you today." She held out her hand, which each girl took. Dani took in Cecilia's appearance. She had long, blond hair (dying and extensions, obviously), a voluptuous body (liposuction, implants, tummy tuck), and a her face would have been prettier had she not had the nose job and cheek implants. "So, if you will follow me..."

Gia followed while Tammy and Dani lagged behind, "Damn, she's almost worse then my mom." Tammy whispered. It was common knowledge that Mrs. Duncan had had numerous plastic surgeries. Dani didn't think that surgically enhancing ones appearance was a bad thing if it was for the right reason, but it just wasn't for her.

"So, ladies, I think it would be good to start here." They heard Cecilia's voice say. Dani and Tammy looked around at the hair salon that surrounded them.

"Oh, crap." Dani sighed, hair. She hadn't cut hers since she was 10, so about 6 years or so. Gia and Tammy giggled slightly, knowing how attached to her ever-growing, naturally curly-yet-at-the-moment-flat ironed hair Dani was. "Oh, shut up why don't you."

"So, ladies, when you are done here, I will show you the mud room and the spa pools." Cecilia said as she left the room, "Ta ta."

Dani sighed, "Oh, 'spa pools'. They're freaking hot tubs." An exasperated voice spoke, causing Dani to turn quickly. Standing in the doorway opposite the one that Cecilia walked out of was a small girl with short, curly black hair, "I'm Kassandra, I'll be doing your hair."

"Hi, I'm Dani." She replied, "Look, if I bite off your hand, please don't take it personally." Tammy and Gia sighed and shook their heads, knowing that Dani was being somewhat serious.

"Attached?" Kassandra asked, eying Dani's hair length.

"That obvious?"

"Um, yeah." Kassandra responded before turning to Gia and Tammy, "Gia, right?" Gia nodded, "Dominica will be your stylist today. I think her exact words were 'y'all white girls can't do black hair, stay away from her'. She'll be down in a moment, this is her chair." She indicated the seat she was standing next to. "So that leaves you, Tammy." Tammy smiled and shook her head excitedly, "Lacie will work with you, she just has to finish with her other costumer, it will only take two seconds. Actually, your standing in front of her chair, so feel free to sit."

Kassandra indicated her chair and motioned for Dani to sit down, "I have a feeling that you should be cutting off a good amount of length." Dani nodded sadly, causing her teammates to smirk, "How much?"

"Well..." Dani began hesitantly, "For a while I've been thinking about giving to Locks of Love, and the minimum requirement is 10 inches."

"Honey, you have more then enough." Kassandra said.

"Great." Dani replied monotonously, "That's great."

"Good, so lets get started." Kassandra chirped as she pulled out a simple black hair tie and placed Dani's hair into a ponytail. Dani groaned, "Calm down, you won't die if I cut it off."

"You can't guarantee that." Dani shot back as she placed her hands over her eyes, "Just get it over with, quick." Kassandra obliged and began cutting the thick rope of hair that was attached to Dani's head. Dani felt the tugging all the while, until it finally stopped and her head felt much lighter. She opened her eyes and looked into the mirror, "Oh my God!" She sighed over the excited squeals of her friends and teammates.

"Now, I think that about an inch under the shoulder would be good for you. You could still pull it up and style it." Kassandra started as she began to pull back Dani's hair for a better look. She nodded as a voice spoke on the other side of the door that Kassandra had entered on.

"It was lovely to see you again, Corrine. I'm so glad we got this chance to talk. Adam it was wonderful to see you as well. You haven't been here in forever."

Dani and Tammy laughed out of their noses, "Corrine?" Dani said, "That's Mrs. Banks."

"Adam!" Tammy exclaimed, "Oh heavens." They both watched and Mrs. Banks and another women came in, chatting happily, while Adam seemed to be ready to jump out a window. "Hi Adam."

Adam stopped dead and looked around the room. His face reddened with embarrassment and his eyes widened in astonishment when he saw the first stages of Dani's haircut. "I'm not here, you never saw me." He mumbled, rushing towards the way out.

"Simmer down, hockey star." Dani retorted as she grabbed a hold of his arm to stop him from moving, "It's not like we're going to tell anyone. Not unless you give us any incentive to." She had a mischievous gleam in her eye that made Adam want to pull her into a deep kiss, but he thought better of it, as they were in a room full of people, one of whom was his mother.

"Lacie." Kassandra broke in, "You do have a job to do." She pointed to Tammy and Lacie nodded in agreement, quickly bidding the mother and son pair good day and walking over to her station.

Dani snickered and whispered, "Youngest working here, yet the most mature and job-minded?"

"How could you guess?" Kassandra whispered back.

"That's kind of my situation." Dani replied, "I'm not the youngest, but I have one older brother, a twin brother, and two younger brothers." Kassandra cringed, "Yeah, I get them all out of jams, except for the youngest, but that's only because he's two. I will be soon enough."

(---------)

The spa day that Eric Orion had bought his team was absolutely fantastic for all of them, and his day had gone great as well. He had taken Joey on a tour of the city and then on a picnic at the park that his parents had gotten married in. All in all, it was a _fabulous _day.

He had just arrived to the building that he shared with the girls and Tommy, his hand just about to brush the doorknob, when he turned, hearing the sound of Gia's Mercedes. All three jumped out with expressions that said they had a great time, but he was shocked when he saw Dani's hair, now only an inch to 1½ inches below her shoulder. "Holy crap!" He called out, causing Dani to smile half way.

"Thanks Coach, it was getting a little heavy, if I do say so my self." Dani retorted cheekily. To Gia's and Tammy's surprise, Dani had excepted her new hair head on, after all the fighting, she took to it rather quickly.

"I see." Eric said, "How was everything?"

"It was great, thanks Coach." Dani said.

"Fantastic." Tammy added.

"Yeah, mind doing it again?" Gia asked, her hair newly in dreadlocks that suited her to a 'T'. Eric laughed, but didn't respond as he moved to open the door. The only problem, it wasn't locked as it had been, nor was it fully closed.

"Um, Coach?" Dani piped up as she looked past him, into the kitchen. The stainless steel that had been spotless before, was now covered in flour, eggs, paint, and food coloring; it looked like a scene out of a stalker/slasher flick.

Eric turned around, now gazing into the kitchen, "Oh God." He whispered, "You three stay out here, I'll call Dean Buckley and the cops."

"Coach, you stay too." Tammy said, "Just use your cell phone to call them." She was truly freaked out, not having seen anything like that in her life. Gia had lived in a middle-class suburban-like neighborhood in Chickasaw, Alabama, but she'd seen break-ins before. Dani, having lived where she had before the age of 5, she remembered things that most people would never believe, she just hadn't seen them in awhile.

"It's okay, Tammy." Dani said, placing her arm around Tammy's shoulder, reliving what her brothers had done for her as a child. "Coach, look, I think someone already called." She pointed to the flashing police lights.

The police stopped just outside the building and rushed around, trying to cuff random people that they saw as threats, until Dean Buckley came rushing up, "No! They're staying here. They are the victims." One of the cops let go of Eric and apologized.

Dani choked when she saw Dean Buckley in the light, and she was sure that Tammy and Gia did as well. He was wearing a maroon pajama set and a pair of shiny, black dress shoes. His pajama top was too tight on his chest and the pants were too baggy, held up with a shiny black belt that wasn't doing it's job to the best of it's ability. "Are you ladies alright?" He asked.

"We're fine." Tammy replied as all three of them attempted to not look at the elderly man in front of them.

"Did anyone see anything?" He asked. Everyone shook their heads no.

"We've all been gone all day. We just got back and this was already here." Gia added.

"Gentlemen, these girls... young ladies," He changed his sentence, remembering their preferred titles, "have had a long day. Could we possibly conduct the search without them, so that they may get some sleep?"

"Where would they go?" One of the leading officers asked.

"I'm going to visit my fiancée, so if y'all don't mind, I have to get running." Gia began to walk back in the direction of her car, but didn't make it all the way.

"Gia, hold on a sec." Dani called, "I know were Tammy and I can stay, could you meet us by the hockey dorms and drive us there?"

"Sure." Gia replied.

"The hockey dorms?" Dean Buckley asked in a fitting baffled manner.

"Why yes." Dani replied sickeningly sweet, "That isn't a problem, is it?" She smiled and Dean Buckley shook his head no. "That's good to know. Well be outside in five minutes." Gia nodded and proceeded to head to her car whilst Dani pulled Tammy along to the dorms.

"Dani?" Tammy asked as Dani stopped in front of the door the lead into the room that Dean and Fulton shared. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Being a Portman." Dani replied, confusing Tammy even more then she was. Dani pulled a hairpin out of her newly cut, non-flat ironed hair that now waved around in naturally tight spirals. She placed the pin in the keyhole of the door and opened it. "Tammy, if you want, you can go outside and wait; it's not that dark yet." Dani added, noticing how increasingly uncomfortable Tammy was becoming. She nodded and left just as the door clicked.

"Now, where do you keep it, dear brother?" She muttered as she started to rummage through the possessions that she knew were Dean's. After a while, Dani found what she was looking for; a black leather bound book that Dean kept his information in.

"Ah, ha." Dani said triumphantly as she opened the book and looked for the address that she needed. She found it and pulled out her cell phone and a pin. She wrote the address on her hand, and dialed the number on her phone. "Come on, come on, please be the one to pick up!"

"Hello?" A female voice said.

"Yes!" Dani sighed, "Oh, sorry. Mrs. Reed? It's Dani. I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

(-------)

Dani had told Mrs. Reed as much of the situation as she cared to let on and she and Tammy had been invited to stay the night. Dani gladly took up the offer, but she hadn't told Tammy where they were going. Gia stopped in front of the apartment complex that Fulton and his mother lived at and Dani got out, still dogging Tammy's questions.

"You'll see." Dani replied in an irritated voice. She walked up the stairs on the outside of the building with Tammy following her. Looking down at her hand, Dani reread the apartment number; she found the apartment and knocked.

"Tammy, Dani, it's good to see you both again." Bethany Reed said as she stood in the doorway.

"Mrs. Reed?" Tammy asked, "It's good to see you too." She added, not wanting to seem rude. She was shocked, how could Dani do this? She was suppose to stay in the same house with a sleeping, more then likely half-naked Fulton Reed for the night? Fulton; what did he wear to sleep? No! Not what needs to be thought about at the moment.

"Come in, girls." Mrs. Reed said as she made way for them to walk in. The apartment was clean and tidy, with a few pieces of strange and cool looking art on the walls. Upon closer inspection, Tammy and Dani noticed that Mrs. Reed had done most of them herself.

"Cool!" Dani exclaimed in a whisper as she looked at a piece that depicted Marie Antoinette being placed in a guillotine. "Marie Antoinette? I love the French Revolution."

"Yeah," Tammy joked, "because you're a psycho." Dani smacked Tammy on the arm and went back to looking around. The dishwasher was running in the kitchen, softly humming, and the whole of the house smelled like Fulton and whatever he wore that made Tammy purr.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Reed." Dani said as, "We really appreciate this."

"It's not a problem girls, the bathroom is down the hall, last door on the left. The couches are actually not bad to sleep on, so that should be fine." Both of them nodded, "Help yourselves to anything that you need, but try to be quiet, the boys crashed about an hour ago."

"Dean crashed this early on a Saturday?" Dani asked sceptically. Mrs. Reed nodded, "That's odd."

"I know, it was strange. Well, good night, girls."

"Good night, Mrs. Reed." Tammy and Dani replied in unison. The waved as she left to go to her room. "Dani!" Tammy said, "I can't believe you!"

"We were graciously invited into a home, because our place was broke into. Tammy, get real. It isn't like you have to elope with him or something." Dani plopped down on one of the two couches in the room, "So, just chill a little."

Tammy did the same and turned so that her face was against the back of the couch. Whatever Fulton wore was heavenly to her, and the couch seemed to be drenched in to. She was exhausted and with one deep sniff, she was off to the land of roses and gumdrops. Dani shook her head and leaned back on the couch she was sitting on and left her thoughts drift until she, too, was asleep.


	28. Greetings and Hospitals

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**RIP MuM i love you so much-** The roses and gumdrops line was a spur of the moment thing... I think I was channeling my band teacher, he says weird stuff like that. Yes, Adam was at a spa with his mom whilst she got her hair done, that will be explained late in this chapter or sometime in the next chapter, I haven't decided yet.

**PrincessH-** Luck? Well, I didn't plan it as luck because their dorm got broken into, but I can see the luck in that... It moves up Dani and Adam's plan! Fulton's reaction should give an interesting mental image, I hope.

**mickEmousina-** I must say that I am happy that you are reviewing once again, but I know how school can get in the way. I'm happy that you like what I have written since you last read, and I hope that you get to read more.

Thank you to mdgirl18!

(--------)

Dani pulled her wet hair into a ponytail to keep it out of the way as she brushed her teeth. It wasn't really in the way anymore, but pulling it back was pure habit. The gray Happy Bunny tank top she was wearing was wet around the top, but it only water, it would dry. Her black jeans were wet around the bottom from the puddle of water she was wiping up with a beach towel and her foot. Tammy stood next to her, brushing her teeth as well, eager to get out of Fulton's house as soon as possible. Dani shook her head and attempted to stifle laughter as Tammy bent down to spit. "Chill." Dani said with a mouthful of toothpaste.

"Chill?" Tammy asked as she rinsed her mouth, "Dani, I am in Fulton's house, using his bathroom, about to take a shower in his shower. How can I chill?"

"First of all, Ms. Duncan, last I checked the name on the lease was _Bethany _Reed, not Fulton. So, taking that into consideration, you aren't in Fulton's house, using his bathroom, and about to take a shower in his shower; you are in Mrs. Reed's house, using _her _bathroom, and about to... OW!" Dani exclaimed as Tammy's hand collided with the back of her head and her left arm.

"How did you get those?" Tammy asked, pointing to the immensely noticeable scars that went from Dani's hand to halfway up her upper arm.

"I tripped on Dean's favorite hockey puck when I was 11." Tammy scrunched up her forehead in bafflement, "Dean had left it on the stairs. I tripped on it and put my arm through the window next to the door. You've seen the layout of my house, the stairs end near the door."

"Yeah. That must have been painful. Now I see why all of your skating dresses have one long sleeve."

"Yeah, but I attempt to forget it." Dani replied as she rinse out her mouth, "I'll see you when you're done." She waved as she walked out of the bathroom and pulled her hair out of it's ponytail and wrapped the band around her wrist, "Hello, Mrs. Reed." Dani said as she entered the kitchen, where Mrs. Reed was reading the newspaper.

"Hello Dani." Mrs. Reed replied, "I'm sorry, but if you want to eat anything you'll have to settle with oatmeal or cereal. I've been busy with my shift at the hospital, and I haven't gotten much shopping done."

"You work at the hospital?"

"Oh, yes. I'm a medical assistant."

"Saving lives one day at a time." Dani replied.

"Paperwork."

"Well, if you didn't keep everything in order then some diagnosis' could be messed up. So if you think about it, the doctors need you. Don't trust them to do their own paperwork." Dani said as she sat down with a bowl, a spoon, milk, and a box of Fruity Pebbles.

"You don't like doctors, do you?" Mrs. Reed asked as she folded the newspaper and placed it on the table.

"Bad experiences." Dani responded, trying her best to not yell what she thought about doctors to the world. Some peopled might get offended. She was lifting the spoon to her mouth when she heard the knob on the bathroom jiggle and someone groan.

"Man! Who is in the shower? Mom is always up at the crack of dawn!" Fulton complained to Dean. He grumbled as he and Dean walked towards the kitchen, "Mom! Who's in the bath..." He walked in and saw Dani eating breakfast, "room. Dani?"

"'Ello." She replied as she took in the boys appearances. Dean was wearing his usual bedroom attire, black boxers and a gray wife beater. Fulton was wearing a pair of black boxers with gold flames. "You look great." She joked.

"Ha ha." Dean said, "Dan, what the hell are you doing here? And what happened to your hair?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Dani looked down at her cereal, "Eating breakfast and I cut it." She replied innocently, pointing out her obvious breakfast. Both of them crossed the room and looked expectantly at Mrs. Reed.

"Don't look at me like that." She muttered in a strong, authoritative voice.

"Fulton." She said as he began to protest.

"Thanks again, Mrs. Reed." Tammy's voice rang through the hallway as she walked towards the kitchen, "We really do appreciate..." She walked in and saw Fulton and his clothes, or lack thereof, "it." She managed to finish.

Fulton turned bright red and seemed to be swallowing his tongue, and Dani didn't blame him, Tammy was a knock out at the moment. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a brown and white horizontal striped belly shirt that showed off the bellybutton piercing that she had gotten just after she made to the Olympics. Her mother hadn't approved of it, but her father signed so she could get it, he was a little more lenient then Mrs. Duncan was. "I... um... I... Excuse me." Fulton mumbled before running out of the room.

"I'll make sure that he isn't going to jump out of a window or something." Dean said quickly as he raced after his friend's retreating back.

Mrs. Reed laughed, "Excuse me, ladies. I have to get to work."

(--------)

Fulton and Dean had left the apartment to find that Tammy and Dani were already gone. Fulton was slouched over and embarrassed as he walked with Dean to meet the Ducks at the building that Terry and Jesse's parents owned and were turning into an Art Gallery.

"Finally!" Russ called as they entered the building. Surprisingly, what looked like all of the instate Ducks parents seemed to be given the grand tour of the building. "Now all we have to do is wait for Julie. What took so long?"

"Nothing." Fulton mumbled.

"Nothing?" Dean asked, "Dude, Tammy Duncan was in your shower." The Ducks, all of whom had learned about their relationship (but not all of it, thank goodness), perked up to listen.

"You make it sound like I walked in on her." Fulton retorted, "She was fully clothed when she came into the kitchen."

"But you weren't." Dean pointed out. "You were in your jammies."

"Shut up, Portman." Fulton said as he silently thanked god that the parents had left the room before the conversation had gotten this far.

"'Jammies'?" Max said, "You sound like you're talking to Felix or Caleb." Dean thought about this for a moment and nodded in agreement. Max glanced toward the window and sighed, "Shit." He whispered as he closed his eyes. Opening them again, he said, "Portman, go hide."

"Huh?" Dean asked.

"Unless you want Sir and Amanda to know that you are here, I suggest you hide." He said, pointing towards the door. Dean looked out the window in the door and sighed.

"I am so lucky that not all of my friends parents hate me and my family." He stalked out of the room and met the parents. "Hello, everyone."

"Dean?" Casey Conway asked, "What are you doing?"

"Max's parents are here. Considering that they hate me and my family, both of us figured it would be better if they not know I'm here so that Max doesn't get moved again for a stupid reason." They stared at him with confusion written on their faces as the conversation between Max and the dreaded monsters from the black abyss.

"Max!" A stern voice yelled, even though Max was standing three feet away. Max shook off his father's yell and didn't answer, as was custom, "Have you spoken to that piece of trash lately?" No response. "Answer me!" He screamed.

"Sir, no Sir." Max replied with venom dripping on every word. "I haven't spoken to Cami in quite a while Sir."

"Is she still with that... eww." His stepmother shuttered to get the point across as Dean balled up his fist and began to bang it into his thigh.

"Alec?" Max asked, wanting to get under their skins, "Yeah, I would suspect..." His father shot him a death like glare, "Ma'am." He added sweetly. "Last I heard, they were ring shopping." Dean stifled his laughter while a shuttering gasp left the lips of Amanda Newmen.

"Antone!" She growled out.

"I know dear, don't worry. You did try your best." Dean inserted an eye roll at this comment while Max fought one. "Lets go."

"Have fun." Max called as he waved. Dean stood in the same spot until Max called out, "They're gone. The banes of my existence are gone!" Dean walked out with a smile on his face as he and Max bumped fists, "They're going to kick me out soon." Max said randomly, "I can see it already. I'll bet the minute I turn 18, I am out of there."

"Yeah, but at least you can come back to Chicago."

"Yeah." Max agreed as he looked from curious parent to curious parent.

"Portman, that part about the ring shopping..." Dean nodded, loving Max's joke to make his parents leave. Dean pulled out the water bottle he had brought from the Reed household, "I wasn't lying." Dean choked on half of the water in his mouth and spit the rest out.

At that moment, Julie walked in and stopped suddenly so that she wasn't sprayed with water. "Um, did I miss something?" She asked.

"Oh, not really." Max told her nonchalantly, "My asinine parents were here just a moment ago and I disclosed to them that Dean's brother and my sister were engagement ring shopping." He looked over to Dean, "From what Alec told me they'll probably end up getting engaged and wait until Cami graduates."

"Mom'll love that." Dean said, "She took to Cami like flies to a garbage dump. Probably because 'Camilla' was the name of her best skating friend, who was, in fact, from Italy." Max agreed with a head nod.

"So, it's good to know that I didn't miss much." Julie replied, still a tad bit confused as to what had happened before she had arrived.

(-------)

Ted Orion sat in the Hospital waiting room as he waited for Becky to get finish with her Physical Therapy for the day. He was leaning on his hand while his elbow rested on the wooden arm of the chair he was sitting on. Letting out a deep sigh, Ted let himself get lost in his thoughts. Becky wasn't getting much support from the Hospital staff, nor did she like to be at hospitals in general; she thought that they were too depressing. Sighing, he rolled his eyes. But he was startled when he heard a light laugh.

"You've been doing that for the past half hour." A familiar and friendly female voice said, "Are you trying to have yourself pass out?" He looked up and saw a young Latina woman with sparkling brown eyes, silky black hair, and an ever-present half smile.

"Thanks for being so concerned with my wellbeing, Matilde, but I'm fine." He replied to the young nurse.

"Okay, I got it through to Becky that I prefer Mattie, not Matilde. Now we have to work on getting that into _your _hard head." She replied.

"You sound like my daughter."

"Good, at least one of you has more then a modicum of retention." Ted scoffed sarcastically, Mattie always joked around with him if he was stuck waiting for Becky. He didn't mind, she was a nice person who always tried to give encouragement to the children, and even teens and adults, who had disabilities of some form.

"Ha ha. Very funny." He retorted. She laughed and motioned to the door through which the Therapy room was.

"I think she should be done soon."

"Thanks." Ted replied, feeling slightly disheartened.

"Look, I really should be saying this, but you look like you need to hear it." Ted stood up, "From what I can tell, for the past few months, Becky has been loads happier, and to me that means she might have more confidence with her therapy."

"Your point?"

"It's just that..." She sighed, trying to find the right words, "Whatever you have around that lit a fire under her... I'd keep it around."

"Won't Dr. McAllister be angry that you told me that?" Ted asked of the head pediatrician in the hospital.

"Why would I care? He's not my boss. I'm in adult medicine. I'm just calling it as I see it."

"Hi, Mattie!" Becky's voice called from behind her.

"Now see." Mattie said, getting back to her earlier banter with the man standing in front of her, "She has retention... She remembered."

"Sure, Matilde." Ted replied just to get a ruse out of her. She shot him a glare as he turned his attention back to his daughter, "Ready Becky?"

"Uh-huh." Becky said, "Is Uncle Eric going to be staying with us again tonight?" Ted nodded, "Yey." Becky said lowly, yet excitedly, as she clapped her hands together lightly.

"Bye." Mattie said as she walked away smiling.

"I like her." Becky said, "She reminds me a little bit of Dani, just older." Ted nodded and turned Becky around in her chair. "Dad? Don't rush out of here like a maniac." She told him to make sure that he didn't run out of the hospital and make her wheelchair go at warp speed.


	29. Ripped Apart and Sown Together

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** Thanks. I hope that you didn't hurt yourself when you feel out of your chair in laughter. Your injury would be on my mind and I would feel guilty, and I don't thing that I could write well with guilt on my mind!

**RIP MuM i love you so much-** I'm glad that you liked all of the conversations in the last chapter, I wanted to make them interesting. I hope it worked!

**Bad Best Friend-** Yes, there is a lot of drama, but that's just the life of a teenager. Drama, drama, drama. Everyone goes through such things and I just try to bring some real life experiences to my story. Or maybe my life is more dramatic then most? Thanks for your opinion!

(------)

Charlie sighed and looked over to the clock next to his bed. 2:39 in the morning. His mind was way too preoccupied to allow him to sleep. The thoughts that raged in his mind were those of Linda. He liked her a lot, emphasis on _a lot, _but, to him, they had lost the romantic-ness of their relationship and seemed to be dwindling as friends.

When they first started dating they would joke, kiss, go out, kiss, walk hand in hand, kiss, etc. It was almost as if all of the passion, or whatever it , had left them. He wanted to be with her, but their differences were starting to take their toll. Damn people like Adam and Dani, who's differences were the fire in their relationships! Wait, were they in a relationship? Oh, who cares.

Charlie sat up in his bed and ran his hand through his hair. He swallowed, it felt as if thick glue was coating his throat and mouth. Throwing his blankets off of his legs, Charlie walked over to his bedroom door, and walked out.

As he made his way into the kitchen, Charlie was preoccupied by the sobbing and shuttering figure of his mother. She was sitting at the dinning room table, staring at a piece of paper, with her hand over her mouth in disbelieve, "Mom?" He asked as he walked towards her.

"You should be in bed." She whispered back to him in between her sobs. Her attempt to stifle them was going badly and that worried Charlie.

"I couldn't sleep." Charlie told her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not Mom." Charlie said, "You're a mess." He took notice of her disheveled hair, tear stained face, and puffy red eyes. "What happened?" She shook her head. Charlie turned his attention to the paper on the table. Even though it was upside down, he could still read it, and he felt his mouth drop as he did so, "Divorce papers?" He asked in a hushed voice. "That deadbeat! I'm going to kill him!"

"No, Charles Lucas Conway, you are not." Charlie looked into her eyes and saw the fire of pain in them. "I can't believe he doesn't think that the baby is his." She whispered.

"What?" Charlie called out indignantly.

"Charlie!"

"Sorry Mom, but that's not right." She mumbled something about 'that's life', but it didn't sooth Charlie's bitterness and anger. "But, Mom, it's okay. I'll help you raise the baby. The way I see it is that you raised me on your own and I turned out perfectly fine, so with both of us raising the baby, no reason he should turn out to be the next Bill Gates or something." Casey laughed as Charlie gave her his signature crooked smile.

"Thank you, Charlie." Casey replied as she wiped a tear off of her face, "But what if it's a girl?"

Charlie thought for a moment, what if he did end up with a little sister? "Oprah! A white Oprah."

"Charlie, I don't want you to give up everything for me and the baby." Casey said, once she took into consideration what Charlie had pledged.

"I don't see me needing to do that." He replied as he put his arms around his mother and hugging her, "I love you mom."

(--------)

"Hey Fulton." Dani said as she sat by him in front of his apartment building. "Where is my brother?" Fulton looked up from the book he was reading, To Kill A Mockingbird, and thought for a second.

"No idea." Was his response. He went back to the book.

"Fun?"

"Not really. Kinda, I guess." Fulton replied, "But I have to get it finished for this test in English." Dani nodded, understandingly. He looked back up, "Know that I think about it, I think Portman said that he had to call Alec."

"Call Alec? About what?"

"The fact that Max told his parents that Alec and Cami were going around and shopping for engagement rings." Dani's eyes popped and Fulton laughed, "Your eyes are going to fall out."

"Ha ha." Dani replied as she stood up, "Then I guess that you will have to do." Fulton raised his eyebrows as Dani pulled him to his feet by his arm. "Come on." She said as she led him behind the apartment complex.

"Were are we..." He was stopped by Dani lightly pinching his lips together.

"No questions." Dani said sternly as they stopped at the supply shed that held the superintendents affects. To Fulton's surprise she pulled out a key, opened the door, and shoved him in, locking the door behind him.

As a result of the push, Fulton had fallen to the ground and his hair had fallen into his eyes. So imagine his surprise when he heard, "Fulton?" He stood and pushed his hair out of his eyes, and there she was. Tammy was standing at the other end of the shed, completely bewildered.

"Tammy, hi. Did Dani kidnap you too?"

"Yes, I have no idea what that psycho loon is thinking." Tammy replied as she slid down the wall to sit. Fulton took the time to take her in. Her hair was in a ponytail, she was wearing low waisted, flare jeans, a mid-drift tank top that had sheer fabric sown on to cover her arms and stomach, and a pair blue and gray flip flops. Needless to say, Fulton was very glad he had a good amount of self control.

"Well, does anyone ever when it comes to Portman's?" Tammy laughed lightly and shook her head in agreement. Fulton walked over to the other end of the shed and sat down next to Tammy. He pulled his hand away quickly when it brushed against Tammy's, he was rather embarrassed at the moment.

"Fulton, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry about what happened with my mother." Tammy said, "It was extremely rude and hurtful of her."

"Thanks Tammy. Just so long as I never have to be in that situation with her again, I'll be fine." Tammy nodded and turned her head away, "You, on the other hand, I wouldn't mind." Where did that come from? Fulton cringed as his sentence left his mouth, she was going to think he was a stalker now. He turned his head away and silently cursed at himself, whilst Tammy turned back to face him.

She placed her hand under his chin and turned his head back to face her, "Do you really mean that?" She asked. The look in Fulton's eyes was enough to give her her answer, "After what had happened, I was scared that you wouldn't want to see me or talk to me again."

"There is no way that would happen." Fulton assured her, "I was worried about the same with you."

"Oh, Fulton. I care about you too much to let someone like my mother to get in between us, I just didn't know how you felt."

"You didn't?" Tammy shook her head, she looked slightly ashamed as she dropped her head down, "Tammy..." Fulton said as he placed his left hand under her chin, so that she looked back up. He leaned over, as well as pulled her closer, and gently planted his lips on hers.

Tammy's hands soon found Fulton's stomach as she ran them over it, towards his chest. She could feel the years of hockey working the muscles under his thin shirt. Her hands found their way over his chest as they rested on his neck, pulling him closer. As she wrapped her arms around his neck, Fulton moved his left hand from her chin to the back of her head. Her hair was like silk under his fingers. He placed his other hand around her middle, felling her thin and toned figure skating stomach.

The kiss was heavenly to both of them, but Fulton pulled away and stared into her eyes. "I've missed you." He whispered.

"You have no idea." Tammy whispered back. "You really don't." She pulled him into another heavenly kiss, but this time it was cut short by the shed door opening.

"Now, was that really so terribly difficult?" Dani's voice asked. Tammy and Fulton looked over towards the doorway, where Dani was standing with her arms crossed across her chest. "You two are the weirdest people that I have ever met, you know that right."

"Yup." Tammy replied as Fulton nodded.

"That's nice." Dani said, "Now get off the floor and get out of there." Tammy and Fulton obeyed, but Tammy moved her arms and wrapped them around Fulton's waist, while Fulton draped his arm around her shoulder. They walked out of the shed and watched in amusement as Dani closed the door behind them, locked it, ran over to the superintendents house, shoved the key through the crack between the window and the windowpane, and ran off, "I didn't do anything." She whispered.

"Dani is a kleptomaniac." Tammy said while she shook her head. "Although, I shouldn't be complaining." Fulton laughed and kissed her again, "My mother is going to be pissed." Tammy added when they pulled away.

"My mom is going to be ecstatic. She loved you from the first day you met."

(--------)

Adam read the letter he had been sent for the millionth time. _"Meet me at Eden Hall, behind the hockey dorms, at 5:30. Dani." _What on Earth did she want to meet him for at the hockey dorms at Eden Hall? He had taken to bus to avoid any questions from his parents. "Adam!" He turned and saw Dani standing at one of the tables behind the dorms (for homework purposes in nice weather, apparently) with a bottle of cran-grape juice and two Styrofoam cups.

"Dani, whats going on?" He asked, eying the cups and juice.

"Oh, this. It's sad, but it was all I could come up with a the moment." She poured the juice into the cups and gave one to Adam, "This is a toast to a well-conceived plan, well-executed." She clinked her cup to his and gulped down the juice, "Wow, I forgot why I liked this stuff." She mumbled.

Adam laughed, "I guess this means that Fulton and Tammy are together, or at the very least, close enough." Dani nodded and smiled. "I'm glad I could help, I think they will be good together."

"I agree." Dani replied. She placed her cup on the table and caught Adam off guard by hugging him. "Thank you, you have no idea how much it means to me that you were willing to help." He smiled and returned her hug. When Dani pulled away, Adam looked straight into her eyes, leaned in, and kissed her.

Dani responded by placing her arms around his ribs and pulling him in closer. God, he was a good kisser! She didn't quite know what she felt when she was around Adam, but she liked it, it made her happy. Adam pulled away, but kissed her lightly before fully breaking away. "Dani, you have no idea what it means to me that I met you."

"That's sweet, Adam." Dani replied softly.

"It's the plain, honest truth." Adam responded, "I have to tell you that I would not have enjoyed this year nearly as much as I did." Dani smiled and blushed a little, "And I was wondering if you, well, if you wanted to... How do I say this?" He asked himself.

"Simply would be easiest." Dani said.

Adam chuckled, "There's that charming wit at work again." He mumbled, "Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go out with me again. As, you know, and actual couple?" He felt heat raise in his cheeks as Dani stared at him in shock.

"Adam, are you asking me to be your girlfriend, or am I just being paranoid."

"Um... The first option." Adam replied hesitantly.

Dani smiled, "I'd love too." Adam's eyes widened as he heard her replied, but he smiled.

"Really?" He asked. Dani nodded as Adam leaned in to kiss her once more.


	30. Beginning of the End

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** I wanted Tammy and Fulton to get back together in a sweet, yet strange way. Getting locked in a supply shed seemed to fill the requirements. I am glad that you liked it. Glad you didn't hurt yourself falling off of your chair, this is good.

**Bad Best Friend-** Yeah, it's strange how wrapped up in some things a person could get. Actually, even I forgot a little about Linda, and I'm writing the story. I had planned on Charlie having his particular feelings earlier, but I think it worked out better this way.

**mickEmousina-** I wanted something kind of love-y and fluffy, but I didn't realize that I had updated so near Easter... Good timing (YAY). As for the Julie/Portman deal, all of that will come nearer to Christmas in the story. But that won't be a terribly long wait.

**Ton Ton-** Thank you for the review. I am glad that you like what I am writing.

(---------)

A simultaneous groan came from all three members of the U.S. Olympic Figure Skating Team as a loud and obnoxious alarm clock rang out. The ring, however, was set to radio and the radio was set to a Techo station. "Oh, God! It's Rave music!" Tammy called out as she slammed her hand on the off button. She sighed as she sat up, "Is it Saturday or Sunday?"

"Sat..." Dani sat up to answer her, but the right word left her mind, replaced by, "Holy crap, Tammy. Is Fulton a freaking blow fish or something?" Tammy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "It was the first thing I thought of..." Dani continued as she walked over to Tammy and handed her a portable mirror.

"Wow. I didn't realize that." Tammy said as she bit her lip. Ever since Dani had gotten her and Fulton together, they spent as much time as possible with each other, and the purple-ish/red marks that speckled her neck showed it.

"Damn, girl." Gia piped in, "How long have you two been together... Like a week?"

"A week tomorrow..." Tammy admitted. "Oh, God... Coach is going to be pissed. He is totally going to give me the third degree about this."

"You... Chill, and get dressed." Dani replied as she rushed into the bathroom and dug through the drawers. Tammy complied, "Gotcha." Dani exclaimed triumphantly as she found what she was looking for. "You see, Tammy," Dani added as she walked into the room with a bottle of concealer and a tube of foundation, "when you love to figure skate, but can't pass up the opportunity to play a little hockey with your brothers... You learn how to cover it up." She beckoned Tammy over to her bed, "Now sit."

"Dani... I don't think I have ever seen you in make-up other then at competitions and exhibitions." Tammy said confused. "And defiantly not enough to cover bruises or hickies."

Dani laughed, "Poor Tammy. Poor, poor naïve Tammy." Dani shook her head as she pressed a little of the concealer onto an applicator wedge and lightly covered Tammy's neck. "If you do if right, you can apply a lot of make-up and still make it look natural." She brought a new wedge of foundation to Tammy's face.

"Hello... My neck is the problem, not my face." Tammy exclaimed.

"Do you want to look like you have more pancake then IHOP?" Dani snapped. She was not really into make-up, but she knew the fundamentals. "If I don't put it on your face, your neck looks darker and it's clear that you are trying to hid something. You have to blend."

"Whoops." Tammy said sheepishly. Gia chuckled as she watched Dani cover Tammy's face, neck, and ears in foundation and blend it.

"Done." Dani said as she stood up and walked back into the bathroom to put the make-up away. While in the bathroom, Dani pulled three elastic hair bands out of one of the drawers and threw one of them at Tammy and at Gia as she walked back into the room. "Guys," Dani began as she pulled her hair out of her face, "is it just me, or has this place given either of you the creeps since the incident?"

"You've got that right, babe." Gia replied as she pulled her dreadlocks back into her hair band. "I'd stay with Dale, but he lives to far away for me to be able to practice here. I'm thinking of retiring after this Olympics."

"Gia!" Tammy exclaimed. Both she and Dani looked up to Gia. Olympic gold medallist, 5-time US medallist, and 7-time World medallist. It would be weird for both of them to not see her on the ice.

"Well, I'm getting married, hopefully starting a family, it just seems like the right time." Dani and Tammy pouted, "It's not like I have set this in stone or anything, I just am thinking about it." She looked over at the clock, "We had better go." Dani and Tammy followed her gaze and nodded.

As the girls walked out of their dorm, they huddled closer together. October in Minnesota, not the warmest time and place on Earth. Dani cast her gaze over to the side of the building that didn't lead to Eden Hall and she saw a black and white package laying on the ground. "Hey, guys... I'll be right there." She untangled herself from her friends and the shrugged their shoulders.

"Whatever, lunatic ice women." Gia replied, thinking that she wanted to stay in the cold. Dani shook her head as she watched Tammy and Gia walk off.

After they were a good distance away, Dani ran over to the side of the building where the package was. She hadn't noticed a white envelope was taped on the top of it. A few leaves were obstructing the envelope, but she could tell it had something written on it, so she brushed the leaves aside and read what was on it: Dani. Her name. That was it.

Was that for her? Well, it did have her name written on it, so who's else would it be unless there was another Dani around that she didn't know about. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Dani pulled the package (that was a white box with a black ribbon around it) off of the ground and pulled the envelope off.

The back of the envelope was taped, so it wasn't hard to open it. Inside was a sheet of lime green-fading-to-white paper that smelled like a very high quality cologne. Dani unfolded the paper and read what was written.

Dani,

The way you skate, your gracefulness,

Shows all of the ability of a classic skater

Yet you allow the smoldering and rebellious fire to show that it is hiding just under the surface.

Except this gift as a token of my affection.

I love you.

P.S. You look beautiful in the rain.

Dani raised her eyebrows. Rain? Love? Was someone playing a trick on her? She hadn't been out in the rain since she was with Adam on their first date, and they didn't know each other as well as they could, so he wouldn't tell her he loved her, would he? And if he did, why wasn't it sighed?

Still curious, yet hesitant, Dani pulled off the black ribbon and pulled of the top of the box. She immediately dropped the box and clasped her hand to her mouth in order to not lose what was in her stomach. Inside the perfectly white box was a dozen perfectly red roses, which would have been okay, except for the mealy worms and rotting rat carcasses that were occupying the empty spaces that they roses couldn't. Dani carefully picked up the box and threw it in a metal trashcan that was next to the football concession stand. "Oh, shit." Dani mumbled as she ran to get to practice, still attempting to not vomit.

(-------)

The wind was blowing a little harder then it had that morning, and it was getting a little colder, but that didn't bother the brunette sitting on a bench in an abandoned park. It had been around three hours since Charlie had been able to break away from his flock of friends, and he had done nothing but think, sigh, walk, and think some more. He planned on doing nothing but that. Fate, however, didn't agree.

"Charlie!" A female voice called. Charlie grimaced, it was Linda... Crap! _'Calm down, Conway. Just act natural. Right... That's never going to happen!' _It was time to panic.

"Linda?" He asked, pretending to be happily surprised. He turned and saw his girlfriend running down some steep stairs, "Didn't expect to see you here." Linda smiled as she laced her fingers with his and kissed his lightly on the lips. Charlie noticed that there was something different about her, or maybe it was him. He was extremely nervous after all, but he didn't want to show it.

"Yeah, I was just walking. What are you doing here?" She asked.

"Thinking."

"Are you going to indulge me, or am I going to have to guess?" Charlie laughed. He loved how she did that, she was perfect. Then why was he having so many troubling thoughts about their relationship.

"It's nothing." Charlie responded, "Just thinking about life, really." Linda sat next to him and he went on, "My stepdad filed for divorce, and my mom is really broken up about it."

"He's knows about the baby, doesn't he?" Charlie nodded. Linda was one of the first he called after he found out about the new baby, second only to Adam who Charlie was begging for advice, "Why would he..."

"Because he's an asshole." Charlie responded bitterly, "He doesn't think that it is his." Linda put her arms around him and he put his arm around her shoulder. "So, now my mom has to deal with this on top of work and carrying a child. I have no idea what to do."

"Charlie, it's okay. You and your mom will get through this perfectly fine." Linda said. She kissed him on the cheek and hugged him tightly, now was not the time to do what she wanted, but she had to, "Look, Charlie, the reason I was walking was I called your place and your mom told me that you were out."

"So?"

"The thing is, I think that we need to talk."

"About?"

"Us?"

"What about us?" Charlie asked.

"Charlie, you're a great guy..." Linda said, trying to not ramble.

"You're a wonderful girl..." Charlie added, not wanting to hurt Linda, but having too much on his plate at the moment to have to worry about a relationship.

"I like you, a lot..."

"I really like you, too..."

"But I think we should take a break!" Both of them finished. After the words left their mouths, they just stared at each other until Charlie broke the silence.

"You do?" He asked, she was thinking the same thing he was. She smiled, he hadn't broken down or broken something, this was going good, "And we stay as friends."

"And if we ever want to, and neither of us had a significant other, we can get back together." Linda added happily.

"But for now, we are good friends who used to date." Charlie finished.

"Exactly..." Linda responded happily, "Charlie, I really care about you and I am glad that we're going to stay friends."

"Friends who used to date." Charlie corrected, "That means I know everything about you."

"Oh, yeah?" Linda said as she put a hand on her hip, "Like what?"

"Plenty..." Charlie replied with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, "Lindy-cakes, beanie-blossom, sugar-booger." He finished while pinching her cheeks.

"Don't you dare tell anyone those nicknames!" Linda demanded, pushing away his hands, "Or I will disclose to the Ducks what you never told any of them." Charlie raised eyebrows in skepticism, "My corn starch needing bubble butt."

Charlie's face turned to fear, "How did you find out about that?"

Linda laughed lightly, "You'd be surprised what a women will tell her son's girlfriend." Charlie clapped his hand to his head. "I know, aren't mother's that worst." Charlie nodded, "I'll see you around. Bye."

"Bye Linda." Charlie said as he watched her retreating back. All in all, that could have gone a lot worse.

(--------)

Breathing heavily and walking quickly, Dani was rushing to get back to her dorm without any farther incident. She hadn't told Tammy or Gia what she had found, because they would only freak out. But no where near how close Dani was to losing it.

She stopped and waited for the cars of parents bringing their children back to school to pass. Once they were all passed, Dani proceeded to her destination, until she heard her named called, "Dani!" She turned sharply and prepared to run until she saw that it was just Julie and Piper with two unfamiliar adults. The women had red hair and was wearing a tank top and a man with brown hair and was wearing a short sleeved shirt.

"Piper, Julie." Dani replied, relived, "Hi."

"Dani, I would like you to meet our mom, Jada Prince," Julie started. She held out her hand and Dani shook it, "and her fiancé Adriaan Reinier." Dani did the same with Adriaan.

"Mom, Papa, this is Dani Portman," Dani could have sworn she saw a gleam in Piper's eye, "my future sister-in-law." Julie smacked herself in the forehead.

"Please, please, _please _tell me that you aren't going to start that up again!" Julie sighed. "This is imaginative torture, Piper. Why must you do this?"

"What is she doing?" Jada asked.

"I'd like to know as well." Dani added.

"Okay, Dean and I had a joke against Julie that he and I were going to get married because of your families wonderful collection of Buffy, Angel, and Firefly." Piper explained before turning to her parents, "Her brother, Dean, is on Julie's team. And, hey, he's from Chicago, I love Chicago... Perfect match."

"_Wacht een minuut_..." Adriaan mumbled, "Dean Portman? The one that got kicked out of the hockey game against Iceland before you did, Julie?" **(Dutch: Wait a minute...)**.

"That's the one." Julie replied.

"Now I must ask a question..." Dani said, "Why in the world are you two wearing those shirts in Minnesota, in October?"

"I'm from the Netherlands." Adriaan replied, "You could say that I am rather used to cold weather."

"More power to you." Adriaan looked confused.

"It's a compliment, dear." Jada said. "I just happen to be from Canada. Northern British Columbia to be exact." Dani nodded her head, noticing her extremely northern accent.

"Um, I noticed your tattoo." She said, "Could I..." She didn't need to finish her question as Jada turned around to show the rest of her tattoo. From the front all you could see was what looked like a hand with claws going into her neck with little red droplets that were suppose to be blood. On the back, however, it was much larger, taking up the right half of her back. The claw/hand belonged to a beautiful women with a seductive expression on her face, wearing a tube dress with a cut-out on the stomach. Her body seemed tense as if she was getting ready to pounce on something, and she had the word 'Siren' on her stomach, as if she had a tattoo herself. The whole tattoo was in black, white, and gray, except for the blood. "Wow, that is so cool."

"Yeah, I got that when I was 19." Jada said, "Right before I had my little cat over here." She ruffled Julie's hair.

"Mom!" Julie complained, "Um, Dani, did anyone tell you about what is happening on the 31st?"

"Halloween?"

"Well, yeah. But Dean Buckley is bringing back an old Eden Hall tradition for Halloween. Everybody wears costumes on the day of, or the Friday before Halloween." Julie explained.

"Point?"

"I was wondering if you could help me?"

"What do you want to be?" Julie leaned over and whispered her answer in Dani's ear. Dani smiled and looked up, "God, you do wonderful things. I'd love to help Julie. But right now, I really do need to go, I'll see you tomorrow." She waved, "And it was nice meeting both of you."

"Pleasure." Jada and Adriaan replied. Dani left the quartet and began to walk back to her previous destination, but the felling of fear and unease was coming back.

Dani heard footsteps behind her as she neared the football stadium and she began to walk faster. As she sped up, the steps behind her did as well. She was about to break into an all out run, but a hand caught her elbow and pulled her back, causing her to gasp out in fear, "Oh, sorry."

"Adam." Dani said, internally heaving a sigh of relief, "Please don't do that."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't." Dani lied, "I guess I'm just really stressed." Adam nodded in understanding, she did look pale and tired. "And a little sleep wouldn't hurt either."

"How about I walk you the rest of the way to your dorm." Adam offered. Dani smiled and nodded, taking his hand in hers and lacing their fingers together. "So, you do look exhausted, what has your coach been having you do?"

"Nothing out of the norm." Dani replied, "I guess the closer I get towards a big competition like the Olympics, the more stressed and nervous I become. But I'm sure that it's like that for every sport."

"Yeah, I can relate." Adam said, "Before I met the Ducks I would get so much pressure put on me. Not that it has changed much, but it's still better then it was."

"Rough dad?"

"How did you guess?"

"I have my sources." Dani told him cryptically. Adam stopped next towards the wall of her dorm building, "I'm not saying." She said as she leaned up against the wall.

Adam laughed and leaned on his forearm, which he had placed on the wall next to Dani, "I have ways of making you talk."

"Oh, really." Dani asked. "And just what might those be?" Adam leaned forward and placed his lips gently on hers. He started off slow and gentle, but slowly and surely he got more passionate. Dani ran her hand up his arm and rested it on his neck. He pulled away after a few minutes and smiled expectantly, "Nope." She said, knowing that he wanted her to answer his earlier question. Adam smirked and lowered his mouth to hers again, intent on getting an answer.


	31. Like a Ton of Bricks

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**PrincessH-** I'm glad you liked the last chapter. I agree, Fulton may be some sort of animal, but he loves Tammy and she loves him. So he's allowed to be. I just am not quite sure where I got the 'blowfish' part from. I have to remember what I was thinking when I was writing that part. Thanks!

THANK YOU to mickEmousina.

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Scooter, along with the rest of the Varsity Boys Basketball team, was making his way to the gym for conditioning and weight lifting. Normally, they would have been in the gym and hour ago, but the Girl's Basketball coaches had set up a sort of try-out/initiation kind of thing at the request of Coach Willis, the gym teacher and Volleyball coach. Scooter knew that it was for Piper, because the girl was insanely good and deserved to be on the team. However his coach, Jeremy Sutton, didn't agree. He thought that the only good thing about the Girl's basketball program at Eden Hall was one of the Coaches, Jolene Ackles.

Once they entered the Gym, Coach Sutton's eyes gleamed as he saw Jolene standing just outside the girl's dressing room, "Ah, Jojo." He said.

"Don't call me that, Sutton." She spat back. It was common knowledge to anyone who cared to listen that he had a crush on her, and that she hated his guts and wished him to the deepest depths of Hell. Coach Sutton's eyes gleamed until his attention was directed to the other Girl's coach, Aidan Thompson. He sighed heavily through his nose as he watched the much better looking man read what looked like a list of some sort.

"Jolene." He said as he walked up behind her. He gave her the list and muttered something that no one but Jolene could understand. She nodded and indicated that she agreed with him on something. This made Coach Sutton more exasperated then he already was.

"Are you two going to give us the court, or are we going to have to beg?" He asked. Scooter held in a laugh and he knew that his teammates were doing so as well. All of them could see him begging her for something.

"Just a minute." Jolene replied, "The girls are going to be out soon."

"Girls? I thought that it was just one?"

"It was. But we also wanted Harri to come and see her. And it just happens that she dragged someone along. So now we have two more. Hopefully." Aidan answered. "I can't believe we missed that one of them was already here." He mumbled as Jolene nodded. But Sutton took no notice of his last comment.

"Harri?"

"Harrietta Liston, the captain." Scooter said. He internally rolled his eyes, anyone with half a brain knew that she preferred to be called Harri, it was her grandfather's name after all, and he had died when she was only three.

"So, just who do these two young ladies happen to be?"

"Okay, wait a minute. Let me get this straight." It was Harri coming out of the girl's locker room. "Perfect grades, great at basketball, a fantastic goalie, and you're dating that!" She had finished next to her coaches and she was pointing at Scooter, "Am I allowed to hate you?" Julie walked passed her and shrugged her shoulders as if to say 'if you must'. "Good, I just had to make sure."

"What are you doing here?" Scooter asked her.

"Piper dragged me to help before hand." Julie answered, "And they showed up while I was helping."

"Oh, you love me for it." Piper said as she walked up behind her and threw her a basketball. Julie did a kind of shrug and nod before she threw the basketball in the direction of the hoop. All of the boys and their coach gaped when the ball when directly in the hoop with a swish. Piper smiled smugly and Julie looked back at the bouncing ball and shrugged.

"Thank you, Ladies." Aidan replied with one of his eyebrows raised and a half smile. Piper and Julie both nodded and left the gym. Before they were completely out of the door they heard one of the guys on the team ask Scooter if he was allowed to date Julie if they ever broke up. Scooter said nothing, but gave his answer with an elbow to his teammate's ribs.

"Ah, Julie." Piper said, "You're irresistible."

Julie smiled, "Thank you, thank you. Autographs after the show." Piper laughed, "Pi, when is mom going to be here?"

"In about... Oh..." She checked her watch, "Ten minutes." Julie nodded, "So, are you coming over to our place?"

"Sure."

"Cool." Piper paused for a moment, "Hey, Julie -something I didn't realize until a couple of days ago- Adam is my across-the-street neighbor. I'm going to have to ask him why people were staring at us from their living room windows when we were moving in."

"Adam has said it time and time again, rich people are nosy." Piper laughed, "But, Pi, you haven't told me what you're going to wear for the costume day."

Piper laughed, "You know, Adam is right." Julie furrowed her eyebrows. Piper smiled, "Rich people are nosy!" Piper ran off towards the gate as Julie took in the fact that her sister had just called her nosy.

"Piper!" Julie exclaimed as she ran after her sister.

(--------)

Dani sighed as she sat on her bed reading an article on her mother's skating career on her computer. Nothing too informative was in that particular article; at least, nothing she didn't know already. Dani sighed and rolled her eyes, clicking the X in the top, right hand corner of the window. She was about to turn off the computer all together until a IM popped up.

**$$ITALIANmoney- Sup cousin? **

**NOTsweet&cute- Hi, Ash. How is everybody?**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Not bad, but mom and dad are going on vacation for Christmas and we won't be able to see you. Sal and I have to go visit the demons in Wichita. **

**NOTsweet&cute- Don't call your grandparents demons. It's not nice.**

**$$ITALIANmoney- It may not be nice, but it sure as hell is true. Plus, we have to see Erin and Harold. **

**NOTsweet &cute- Who?**

**$$ITALIANmoney- OH, right. You never met them. They're mom's brother and sister-in-law. They have the most annoying daughter with the most annoying friends.**

**NOTsweet&cute- Speak your pain to me.**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Funny. She's uber preppy and has owned three purses every six months since she was 4. **

**NOTsweet&cute- :shutter: What's her name.**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Glory... Well, actually it's Gloria, but she simply _must _be called Glory. Her creepy friend has a crush on me!**

**NOTsweet&cute- I'm sorry. Maybe I can set you up with a cute Minnesota girl. That way, you can blow her off nicely. **

**$$ITALIANmoney- Not going to happen. I've already blown her off as nicely as possible. Anyways, I have a girlfriend, so no need.**

**NOTsweet&cute- Ash... I need details! You know me, you can't just stop there!**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Like?**

**NOTsweet&cute- Like name, age, where does she live, how did you meet? Come on!**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Name: Silver Fischer. Age: 19. Lives in Beverly. Met because she is a big fan of The Rink and Morgan Park in general.**

**NOTsweet&cute- So you can basically thank Mom for getting you two together. **

**$$ITALIANmoney- Just don't tell her I said that. **

**NOTsweet&cute- Whatever. Another question: You're 20, so why do you have to visit them if you don't want to?**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Mom wants me to. **

**NOTsweet&cute- Mama's boy. **

**$$ITALIANmoney- Shut up. By the way, the annoying 13 year old wanted me to tell you that he will be cheering you on, as will I.**

**NOTsweet&cute- Don't call Sal annoying, we both know worse. But thank you. **

**$$ITALIANmoney- I'll try to get out there at some point.**

**NOTsweet&cute- Thanks Ash. Maybe you can bring Silver. **

**$$ITALIANmoney- I'll try. She loves to travel. I run it by her and then we can see when we both have free time. **

**NOTsweet&cute- I have to go, homework and practice you know.**

**$$ITALIANmoney- Yeah, I do. I'll talk to you later. Bye, babe.**

**NOTsweet&cute- Don't call me babe. Buh-bye.**

Dani logged off of the conversation and turned off her computer. She sighed as she pushed down the top of her laptop. Needing something to do, she walked down to the kitchen and turned on the television before pulling out ingredients that she needed to make brownies. She was sure that Dean would appreciate them, he was a brownie freak.

(---------)

The brownies were cooking in the oven and all Dani could do was wait. She washed her hands and pulled out a rag to wipe off the counter tops. After putting all of the ingredients in their proper place she began to clean; that was, until a particular story on the news got her attention.

"_Carson City entrepreneur, Hai-Chao Li, is offering a $10,000 dollar reward for the capture of this man." A police sketch of a white man with a square jaw, black hair, a scraggly beard, a large nose, beady eyes, and a gray hoodie popped on to the screen next to the female reporter. "His name is Jackson Witt, and he his being charged on the beating and robbery of Li's daughter Thalia, and her fiancé, Jamison Banks, of Edina, Minnesota, in Las Vegas, at 12:30 yesterday morning."_

"Oh, crap." Dani said, deadpanned. She raced over the to table, where she had sat her cellphone. The grabbed it harshly and dialed Adam's cellphone number at top speed, "Come on. Come on; pick up, Adam." She whispered.

"Hello?" Adam's voice said through the phone. Dani heaved a sigh of relief.

"Adam, it's Dani."

"Oh, hey."

"Are you near a t.v. set?" Dani asked, "It's really important."

"Yes."

"Good, flip to channel 3."

"Um, okay. Hold on a second." Adam pulled the phone away, "Mom, dad, can I go to channel 3? Thanks." He took the remote that his mother had passed him and pressed the buttons, "So, what is this... about." He finished just as the channel changed. Dani turned her attention back to the television screen.

"_Mr. Li, what happened." A reporter asked._

"_From what I been told by the police, Mr. Witt broke into my daughter's apartment while she and her fiancé were having dinner together. He beat them with an unloaded gun that was found at the scene and stole a significant amount of money and jewelery, including her engagement ring." _

"_Do you know how your daughter and her fiancé are doing?" _

"_Thalia is much better off." Mr. Li replied. "She has a few broken bones, some cuts and scraps, and a concussion." He stopped for a moment to stop from crying, "But Jamie has not woken up just yet. The doctors say that he had taken the most of the beating." He sniffled. _

"Adam, I'm so sorry." Dani whispered into the phone.

"Thank you for calling." Adam replied.

"Your welcome." Dani said. She and Adam hung up their phones and she sighed. She felt very sorry for Adam, and his parents had been in the room and watched it along with him. And what about Monica? Adam told her that she was so excited when Jamie came to visit; she was going to be heartbroken. All they could to was hope, but maybe this would get Mr. Banks off of his lazy butt and try to reconcile with Jamie.


	32. A Load of Laughs

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** My computer has been a little weird lately as well. Maybe it's a computer epidemic? I hope not, I love my computer too much. Thanks for reviewing when you could.

(--------)

"Basically what happened was we had dinner at her place, went out for some ice cream, caught a late movie, and I dropped her off around 12:30. I forget what I was going in for." Jamie's voice came loud and clear through Adam's cell phone as Adam tried to adjust the wig he was wearing for the costume day, "That Witt guy practically kicked the door down. It was really... What the hell is that rustling?"

"Oh, sorry." Adam replied, "I'm trying to get this stupid wig to stay on."

"Wig?" Jamie asked, perplexed, "What wig?"

"It's a long story, I'll tell you later." Adam said, "How is everybody? I heard that Thalia had some broken bones and a concussion."

"Yeah, a couple of broken ribs and a broken wrist; not to mention that huge bump on the back of her head." Jamie told him somberly, "But all she cared about was how I was because it was almost two days before I woke up."

"Aw."

"Shut up." Jamie snapped.

"Sorry, Jamie." Adam said sheepishly, "How are you?"

"Fine, fine." Jamie sighed, "Cracked elbow, four crushed metacarpals, dislocated shoulder, bruised ribs, a massive headache, some cuts and scraps, and a black eye the size of Antarctica, but other then that fine."

"Nice to know it wasn't anything serious." Adam said sarcastically. How is it that Jamie was just shrugging this off? "What about the stuff that he stole?"

"Mr. Li's $10,000 incentive was enough to get some people's attention." Jamie said, "The guy took all of our stuff to a pawn shop in Henderson, just south of Las Vegas. The owner recognized him from the news story, and called the local police. They confiscated all of the stuff he had- not all of it ours, I must mention- and brought him and everything back to Las Vegas. The other stuff matched items reported stolen in several other robberies in the Las Vegas area. This guy is definitely not a first timer."

"So you got the ring back."

"Yup, Thalia said that she didn't _need _it, but I could tell that she was happy that she got it back." Jamie paused, "Probably a good thing we did to, at least it shows that they caught the guy. Thalia hasn't even been back to her apartment, she's been staying with Cara and Ava."

"It was a traumatic experience." Adam said, "It will take a while. However, it should cheer you up to know that mom hasn't talked to dad since we saw the story on the news. She says he's 'being a stubborn pain in the ass and that he's just proving her point'. Her words, no lie."

Jamie laughed, "Yes, mom was always the sane parent. But back to you..." Adam sighed, "Any relationships yet?"

A knock came on the door, "Come in." Adam called as he held his phone to his chest. Dani walked in and smiled at his costume, giving him a kiss before he went back to Jamie, "Why did I have a feeling that that was going to come up? You're as bad as the Ducks sometimes. I am perfectly fine with my love life situation." Jamie sighed, he had perfected the 'I'm perfectly fine' lecture. It meant that no girl was in the picture. Adam laughed, knowing what his brother was thinking.

Dani pulled Adam's phone from his grasp, "Me thinks he's fine to." She said. Adam raised his eyebrows and Dani shot him a coy look as she gave it back.

"Um, Adam, am I dreaming or was that Dani?"

Adam sighed, "No, you weren't. But I have to go or I will never get this outfit on."

"Sure," Jamie said, "outfit. Right, that's the reason." Adam sighed and shook his head, "I'll see you soon. Tell Monica I said hi."

"Will do. Bye." Adam closed his phone and sighed. He spoke when he noticed that Dani was staring at his costume, "What?"

"It's fabulous, I love it." Dani laughed, "Not many men would go this route."

"Yeah, well, I won't if I can't get this stupid wig to work."

"Sit."

"Huh?"

"Sit down and I can help you." Adam obeyed and sat down on the chair in front of his desk. Dani pulled the skewed wig off of his head and pulled his hair back, keeping it in place with hairpins that she pulled out of her pockets. Adam opened his mouth but she cut him off, "Before you ask, Julie and Connie recruited me to help them, that's why I was here in the first place."

"Oh, really? So you can tell me what they are going to be." Adam replied, "They've been so hush-hush about everything." Dani made a motion as if she was zipping her lips shut, "Oh, come on."

"No." Dani said, "If they didn't tell you then it's not my place to tell." She straightened out the wig and placed it over his hair, "Besides, that would ruin the surprise element. Isn't that why you and Charlie had a sparing battle over who got the room?"

"How did you find out about that?" Adam asked as Dani pinned the wig in place.

"I told you before, I have my sources." Adam turned with an eyebrow raised, "You didn't get me to talk last time and it won't work now. And I mean that, so turn back around, I'm almost finished." Adam complied and Dani put the final pins in place. "Perfect."

"That's great Dani." Adam said. He sighed, "Aren't you just a little worried what will happen if your brother found out you were in here?"

"No." Dani responded simply, "If he does and blows a gasket, I'll tell him you recruited me to help you, just like Julie and Connie. And that isn't a lie." Adam shrugged, "Relax. Contrary to popular belief, Dean isn't a major hard ass all the time. And when we tell him the truth, he'll get pissed off and then simmer about it." She was a little worried about Dean, but she wouldn't let anything happen to Adam. Plus, Dean knew that the Ducks needed their star player.

"You say this, yet I recall a time that I heard Dean and your older brother literally threw a guy out of your house after your younger brother tripped him down three flights of stairs." Adam said.

"Technically it was two flights, he tripped down the third himself, but that's not the point." Dani sighed and walked over to Charlie's bed and sat on it, "Wilson is a complete jackass, and I let them do that because I was in a bad place at that point with him; I wanted him to feel the pain and hell he was putting me through. You aren't him, at least not that I've seen."

Adam silently cursed at himself, "Dani, I really care about you and I don't want to hurt you. I'm sorry. It's just the Dean Portman I'm use to is the big guy that doesn't have any trouble punching out the nearest person if he's pissed off enough. But you're right, I'm not Wilson."

"But _you_ are wrong about one thing." Adam raised his eyebrows in confusion, "Dean won't hit women or gay men, it's his mantra."

"What?"

"Dean won't punch someone out if said person is a women or gay man, I made him promise that after I became friends with Doe. I think he might make an exception for Rick Riley, but that's beside the point." She smiled and Adam nodded. "He's not all bad, just a little rough around the edges."

"Let me guess." Adam said, "To you, he is sweet, caring, loyal, lovable, adorable, and friendly." He paused, "Wow, did I just describe a Golden Retriever or what?" Dani laughed, he loved it when she did that.

"You just gave me a new nickname for him."

"What was his old one?" Adam asked, his curiosity rising.

Dani shook her head, "Can't tell, family confidentiality agreement. You understand." Adam laughed lightly, "Look, Adam I have to go or I will be late for class. I'll see you later." Dani moved to stand up.

"One thing before you go." Dani nodded, "Go with me to get Ethiopian food next Saturday." He remembered the conversation that they had had on their first date and he was eager to try.

"I'd love to."

(--------)

Scooter, Charlie, Dean, and Goldberg were sitting at their usual table in the cafeteria waiting for the rest of the Ducks to arrive. Scooter had pulled out a fine -toothed comb and was combing back his already slicked back hair. "Dude, chill. You've done enough, don't you think?" Charlie asked.

"I'm just trying to make it authentic." Scooter replied. He was wearing what looked like something straight out of 'Grease'; he was dressed as a 1950's bad boy/stud. Dean thought that he could have filled it out better, but that would be closer to normal for him then what he was currently wearing.

"Yeah, whatever." Goldberg said before turning his attention to Dean, "I never thought I'd live to see the day that Dean Portman slapped on a suit and parted his hair. We already have one cake-eater, we don't need another."

Dean chuckled, "Goldie, I may be dressed like a preppy, but I can still beat your ass into the ground. Remember that, will you." Goldberg nodded. "Good boy. And at least I'm not wearing a dress."

"It's not a dress." Goldberg shot back indignantly, "It's a Toga. I'm Caesar, see the blood stains." He pointed to the red splotches on his white toga.

"Oh, that's suppose to be blood? I thought it was strawberry stains." Dean shot back sarcastically. Goldberg laughed back showing that he was not amused. "Off of Goldie, what were _you _thinking Charlie?"

"What? You can't go wrong with being a 1920's gangster in a Zoot suit." Charlie said defensively.

"What, Linda didn't pick that out for you?"

"No, she didn't. We broke up." Charlie snapped.

"Oh, sorry man."

"Whatever." Charlie said as he looked over towards the door and smiled as he saw Guy walk in, "Hail, good Sir Knight." He called. Dean, Goldberg, and Scooter looked over in Guy's direction and saw him dressed as if he was a medieval knight. "Connie finally has her knight in shining armor."

"Ha ha." Guy replied, unenthusiastic. "Very funny, how did I not see that coming?" He asked sardonically.

"Come on, Guy. It's all in good fun." Dean said, "By the way, did Connie or Julie tell you what they were wearing? They've been more tight-lipped then any of us." Guy shook his head, "Scooter?"

"I tried to get Julie to tell me, but she got out of that conversation faster then Dr. Atkins in a doughnut shop." Scooter replied. He jumped as he felt a hand clasp his shoulder.

"Make love, not war." A voice said. He and Charlie, whose shoulder had been clapped as well, turned to the voice and laughed at what they saw. Adam had on a wig down to his lower back, a shirt with long and flowing sleeves, and a pair of pants with legs in a similar fashion.

"Oh my God." Dean said, "Cake-eater is a flower child."

"I thought it would be a nice change." Adam replied as he saw down. "I'm a flower child, and you're preppy." Dean rolled his eyes knowing that none of them were going to get over this costume thing soon.

"Holla, holla, my playas." A voice said as it approached the table. Russ was joining them. He had on a large red hat with a zebra print strip around it and a red suit with zebra print on the inside. In his hand was a straight wooden cane, "The P-I-M-P is here!"

"Russ, sit down." Charlie said; Russ complied.

"Hi guys." A female voice said. "Hi hubby." Piper swatted Dean on the shoulder, indicating that he should pull out a chair for her. He did so and she sat. She was wearing a brightly colored robe with a huge belt, or something, around her torso. Piper noticed the looks she was getting, "Before any of you have to ask, it's a kimono. Traditional female Japanese wear." The boys nodded, "Oh my God!" She exclaimed.

Everyone looked over as a person in a pink rabbit suit, full head and all, walk into the room and towards their table. Everyone was thinking the same thing, "Oh God, Averman." Dean said, "What were you thinking?" He asked the rabbit suit person.

"What?" Averman's voice asked from a completely opposite direction, "You don't think that I'm West Side and Gangsta?" Everyone turned towards his voice and saw that he was wearing a pair huge sweat pants, a white wife beater, and a lot of gaudy jewels and chains.

"Man, don't ever say that again." Russ said as he poked Averman with his stick.  
"And if Averman is _attempting _to be like my people," He turned to the rabbit, "then who is that?"

The rabbit hands moved upwards to it's head and pulled it off. Dean choked on his milk as he exclaimed, "Fulton!"

"What? I'm a rabbit, leave me alone."

"And you make a very nice rabbit Fulton." Max said as he clapped him on the back. The occupants of the table burst into laughter as the got a full view of him. He had on pink leggings, a huge floral print top, skewed hair, bad high heels, and horribly done make-up.

"Well aren't you just the trailer trash princess." Dean scoffed.

"I should be." Max replied dismissively, "That _was _what I was going for."

"Very nice." Ken commented as he joined the group. Everyone erupted in applause at the sight of his costume. He was wearing a blown up muscle shirt, complete with tattoos, leather pants, and a leather vest.

"Wu man! A biker." Fulton said.

"A butch biker." Ken corrected. "So, who else has to arrive?"

"Mendoza, Dwayne, Cons, and Jules." Charlie answered after a quick, captainly head count.

"Well, I'm here." Dwayne said as he walked in from the direction that no one was looking in. "What?" He asked as everyone stared at him, "What are y'all starin' at?"

"Dwayne?" Guy said, "Why are you wearing a skirt? And a plaid skirt at that!"

"It ain't a skirt." Dwayne replied, as if that was completely obvious, "It's a kilt. I'm a Scot."

"A what?" Averman asked.

"Don't y'all ever listen in history?" Dwayne asked in an exasperated tone, "A Scot is a native of Scotland." He slumped in his seat and pulled his cowboy hat over his eyes (yup, he was still wearing the hat).

"I swear, if I see Mindy and her snotty posse stare at me like I'm below them again, I'm going to jump out of a window." Luis's angry voice muttered as he stalked over to the table. No one was truly surprised about his costume, considering how proud of his heritage and background he was. He was dressed in a traditional male flamenco style outfit.

"Luis, don't worry about her." Scooter said, "She's been a holier-then-thou ho since the eight grade. Sooner or later something else will piss her off and she will forget all about making your life suck beyond all measure."

"Thanks, Scooter."

"Scooter, Scooter, Scooter!" An excited, little voice exclaimed as arms wrapped around Scooter's waist.

"Louise." Scooter replied, less then chipper. "What are you doing here?" He turned to he his father and stepmother walking with Dean Buckley, no doubt doing some Alumni work. But today? Why today? "Oh, no." He whispered.

"_Bonjour, Scooter._" His stepmother said, "_Comment allez-vous?_" **(French: Hello, Scooter. How are you?). **

"_Très bien, Jolie. Merci._" **(French: Fine, Jolie. Thanks.). **Scooter didn't mind speaking French around Jolie, he knew how much easier it was for her. After all, she had lived her life in France and only moved to the United States after Louise was born. She and his father had spent the majority of the first two years of their marriage on different continents. "Uh, Dad?" He asked, indicating his sister.

"Oh, right." Alexander Vanderbilt replied. He pulled his daughter off of his son, much to the younger child's dismay, "Don't you all look nice."

"_Merci_, Dad." His tone made it obvious that he was less then enthused.

"Well, we had better get going." Dean Buckley interrupted. "Important things to do." Scooter nodded and hid his happiness. He loved his family, but he didn't need them at his school.

Before they got to leave, however, a teammate of Scooter's from the basketball team walked up to the group and put his arms on Scooter's and Guy's, who was sitting next to Scooter, shoulders and whispered, "You lucky sons of bitches."

"Care to elaborate, Cook?" He asked.

"No need." The boy replied as he pointed to the door. Guy and Scooter followed his point and their jaws dropped, causing the rest of the team to look, making their jaws drop.

Connie and Julie had just entered and were getting stares from everybody. Connie was wearing a short, tight green dress with sheer green fabric hanging from it. She had on shimmery, green, open toed high heels and green-tinted lip-gloss and eye shadow. Tiny strips of green silk were tied into her hair and green bracelets shone on her wrists.

Julie was the exact opposite of Connie's bright demeanor. She was wearing a black leather tank top and mini skirt with deep purple velvet sown on to them. Her shoes were thigh-high boots that showed only about 1½ to 2 inches of skin on her legs. Lacey, black glovelettes that wrapped around her middle fingers covered the majority of her arms. A choker with a heart with a dagger through it rested on her neck.

"Hi guys." Julie said as she and Connie sat down between Scooter and Guy. She and Connie noticed the open mouths around them and began to close them all.

"Ms. Gaffney? Ms. Moreau?" Dean Buckley asked, deadpanned.

"Hi Dean Buckley." They replied in unison.

"Um, um. Shall we?" He asked the Vanderbilt's. They walked away as Louise looked over her father's shoulder and waved somberly back a Scooter, who waved back.

"Aw. You big softy." Julie said.

"What did Dani do to you two?" Adam asked.

"How did you know that it was Dani?" Connie asked with her eyebrows raised.

"I kind of recruited her to help me with this wig." He stated, "She told me that she was helping you two, but refused to tell me what you were."

"Ah, good old Dani." Julie sighed, "Such a trustworthy friend."


	33. Found Out

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**PrincessH-** Laughing uncontrollably were you? I should hope so, that was the reaction that I wanted! Anyway, I am glad that you didn't fall out of your chair whilst laughing, because I don't like causing physical harm!

Thanks to RIP MuM i love you so much.

(--------)

Dani sat in her 'classroom', looking at the contents of a large yellow envelope with tears of horror in her eyes. She had received another 'gift' like her roses, but this time they were pictures. Pictures of her skating, of her sitting around with Dean (his face having red marker through it), her and the Ducks just joking around, and her and Adam on their first date kissing in the rain. A post-it note sized piece of paper had fallen out onto her lap just as she opened the envelope and she read it. 'I'm getting impatient'. What the hell was going on?

Dani jumped as she heard footsteps in the hallway and she quickly stuffed the pictures and the note back in the envelope and crammed the envelope in her bag. She attempted to wipe the tears out of her eyes, but didn't in time for Becky, Monica, and Ana to come in and not see them. "Hey Dani." Becky said, "What's wrong?"

"Wrong?" Becky nodded, "Nothing, bad allergies, I swear the never dust this place." The three young girls agreed and sat down next to Dani, "What? What are you looking at?"

"Nothing." They replied together.

"Um-hmm." Dani said skeptically, "Yeah, sure, I believe that." Monica shifted a little in her seat, "Out with it, Monica."

"Are you dating my brother?" She blurted out. Realizing what she had said, Monica quickly covered her mouth with her hands and looked around for a way to get out of the situation that she had gotten herself in. Dani laughed and shook her head. How did they find out about that?

"Well, aren't you just straight to the point." Monica chuckled nervously, "Yes, actually, I am. And you three are not going to tell anyone if you want to keep your vocal cords, clear."

"Um, why?" Ana asked.

"Ana, have you ever seen my brother?" Ana nodded, Monica and Becky had shown her plenty of pictures of the Ducks, "That's why. Do you want your best friends brother to be killed?" Ana shook her head, "Didn't think so. I have to find Dean in a good mood so that I can tell him."

"Does anyone else know?" Monica asked.

"Jamie for sure, he might have told his friends."

"I like them." Monica said, "Did you hear about what happened? Oh, duh, you were the one who called Adam's cellphone to tell him to turn on channel three."

"How did you find out about that?"

"Adam's phone has good memory. I learned his password, so I like to check his past calls." Dani raised her eyebrows, "Please don't tell him, he'll kill me." Dani opened her mouth to question, but she couldn't find the words, "I know, I'm a horrible child. But I'm a naturally curious and free-spirited person, I can't help it."

"Are you going to be one of those girls that doesn't shave their legs?" Dani asked curiously.

"Um, no."

"Oh, good." The girls laughed as Dani looked down and at Becky's legs in her wheelchair, maybe legs aren't the right thing to be talking about at the moment. Just as she thought that she saw a fly land on Becky's left foot and the foot tick to get the fly away. Wait, tick! "Um, Becky."

"Yes, Dani."

"Your foot just ticked."

"What do you mean?"

"It ticked." Dani said, trying to find a word to elaborate, "It, like, moved." Becky's eyes grew as she looked down, was Dani being serious? "I know that look, Becky. Yes, I am being very serious."

(-------)

Dean, Fulton, Charlie, and Guy had somehow met up at Mickey's and decided to just talk and walk, nothing special as everyone else had something to do. They had no idea where they were going, but none of them really cared. "So, does anyone have any clue what to do?" Guy asked as they sat down on a park bench on the top of a hill.

"Not a clue." Dean mumbled as he zipped up his leather jacket that Dani had given him for their birthday. Shit! It was November and he still hadn't gotten her a birthday present. He was the worst brother in all of Twin-dom.

"Mall of America?" Charlie suggested. "I'd like to relive the days of eating hot dogs and riding roller coasters until I hurl." Fulton laughed and they slapped palms.

"Did this happen when you two were Captain School-less and the School-less Wonder?" Dean asked, thinking of the first two superhero names that remotely made sense. Charlie and Fulton nodded, "Damn, I should have showed up earlier."

"Hey, look." Guy piped up, "It's Adam." He pointed down the hill to a familiar face sticking out of a familiar jacket. "What it he doing here..." He was cut off as an unidentified person walked behind Adam and tapped him on the shoulder. Adam turned and pulled the person into a deep kiss. "Oh, that."

"Damn." Dean said, "Cake-eater has it going..." He stopped as the person pulled away and turned bright red as he saw that said person was no other then Dani. _His _Dani. "My sister." He said slowly, "What the fuck is he doing?"

"Portman, man." Fulton said, "Chill, let's go."

"Go... I don't think so." Dean replied dangerously slow, "That is Dani. My _sister_, Dani. If Cake-eater thinks he getting away with playing tonsil hockey with her, he has got another thing coming."

"Portman, don't do anything rash." Guy added, "If you do anything now it is more then likely that Dani will have no problem hating you forever."

"Good point." Dean hissed to himself, "It's a good thing that I will be seeing him on Sunday night. Good for me that is." Dean huffed as he stalked off back in the direction of Fulton's apartment.

"Adam's in trouble." Charlie said as Guy and Fulton nodded in agreement.

(-------)

Sunday night took way to long to get to for Dean. He was sitting in his dorm room as he waited for Adam to arrive, while Fulton was sitting in his bed in an attempt to stop his best friend from pummeling the best player on their team. Fulton, Charlie, and Guy had been attempting to get a hold of Adam all weekend, but he was no where to be found and he never had his cellphone on, a strange thing for Adam.

Dean shot straight up out of his seat as he heard the door of Charlie's and Adam's room open and close. He knew that Charlie was with his mother, so it had to be Adam. Fulton shot up as well and raced to the door before Dean could get there, "What are you doing, Fulton?"

"Dude, just chill for a sec, okay," Fulton said in an attempt to talk some sense into his friend and brother, "You don't know what happened and might not be such a big deal. Besides, think about Dani. How pissed off would she be if you attacked him?"

Dean sighed, Fulton had a point. He loved his sister and the last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, but she had been in a similar position before, twice actually. Her only real boyfriends had seemed nice at first, even if they both had reputations of being major dogs, and Dani had forced Dean and their other brothers to back off, and she had ended up getting pushed around, walked all over, and hurt. Never physically, but she was a wreak when the relationships were over. If Dean never heard the names Corbin Alter or Wilson Malone again, it would be too soon. Dean sighed heavily, "I'm going to break his nose." He tried to push Fulton off of the door, but Fulton was rather persistent when he wanted to be.

"Look, you told me that Dani has had some bad dating experiences, but you already knew that those two were bad news." Fulton continued, "But this is Adam that we are talking about. He is what any person would want their daughter to go out with. He definitely is not like whoever the hell Dani has dated before."

"I just want to talk to him."

"And there will be no beating involved." Fulton said, "If you forget, we kind of need Adam as a team, and I would prefer that my best friend didn't get sent to jail for assault."

"Yeah." Dean said, the last thing he needed was to get sent to jail with his sister hating him, "Fine. I just want to figure out how those two would be attracted to each other, because I can't see it." He pushed Fulton out of the way and left the room.

"Funny." Fulton said to himself, "Because I can." It was obvious to him how Dani and Adam would have gotten together. Did Dean honestly think that Dani would want to date someone like him? She had too many of that type around, she didn't need anymore.

Dean sighed to contain his anger as he knocked on the door of Charlie's and Adam's room. "Come in." Adam said. Dean couldn't help but think that Adam had made a huge mistake. Dean opened the door and walked in, "Hey Portman. Can I do something for you?"

Dean closed the door, "Actually, you can."

"And what is that?" Adam asked.

"Bleed." Adam was caught off guard as Dean lunged at him and grabbed the collar of his shirt and slammed him against the wall, "What in holy hell were you thinking, man?" He slammed him again, "What were you thinking?"

"Portman," Adam said as he tried to breathe, "what are you doing?"

"Answer the question." Dean demanded, "What were you thinking, going out with Dani. That's my sister." Dean seemed to regain normality as he threw Adam onto his bed and ran his hand threw his hair, "You are a piece of work, Cake-eater. A real piece of work." He left the room before he had the urge to attack Adam again.

Adam sighed as he rubbed the back of his head, luckily it wasn't bleeding. How did Portman find out that he and Dani had gone out? He didn't seem to know that they were full-fledged dating, but he was pissed nonetheless. Dani wouldn't have told Dean without informing him that she was doing so, so how did he know? He was going to have to tell Dani that Dean knew, and she seem really upset already for some reason. Adam felt a tear drip down his face as one thought entered his mind, _'God, life sucks right now.'_


	34. So Over

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** I thought that Dean would naturally flip out if he found out that Dani and Adam had gone out, he didn't ever know that they were actually dating. Think of the horrible things he might do... Anyway Adam is lucky that he didn't get more then that, Dean is learning control. Good for him!

**harumscarum-** Yay. Loving is good, the world needs more love. All of your guessed were very good, and you're right, I could never see one of the Ducks as a psycho stalker. The stalker will be revealed at some point in the future, but I'm going to have to write until I find a good time to do so.

Thank you mickEmousina!

(--------)

Adam stood in front of Dani's dorm building, waiting for her to return from practice. After the Ducks had left the ice, she had asked her coach to help her with a move that Adam didn't remember the name too. He sighed heavily and wondered how long she would take because he was beginning to lose his nerve. He had to tell Dani that Dean knew that the two of them had gone out on date, but he really didn't want to.

"Adam?" _'Crap... Oh well, it's now or never.' _Adam thought as Dani walked up to him. _'God, she even looks beautiful when she's tried as hell. Focus Banks... You have to tell her.' _"Hi, what are you doing here?" She asked, kissing him. However, Adam didn't kiss her back, "What's wrong?"

"Dani, we need to talk."

"Adam, you do know that I know that whatever you have to say is bad, just because you said that, right?" Adam silently cursed at himself.

"I don't exactly know how to tell you, but I guess I'll just say it." He took a deep breath, "Dean found out about you and me." Dani's eyes widened, "He only knows that we went out on a date. At least I think that's all he knows."

"Shit." Dani said, more to herself then Adam. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I wanted to tell him, he tends to take it better."

"I don't know how he found out." Adam said. _'Shit, here goes.' _"But I think that we maybe shouldn't see each other anymore." Dani's jaw dropped, "As boyfriend and girlfriend. We could still be friend friends."

"Adam," Dani said as calmly as possible, "Do you not remember when I said that Dean doesn't control my life?" Adam gazed downward, "If your doing this because of him, I don't want you too."

"I just think that it would be best." Adam lied; of course he was doing this because of Dean! He knew that Dani and Dean were closer then most people, even other twins, and he didn't want to hurt the relationship that they had with one another. "I'm sorry, Dani. I think I should go." Adam leaned in and kissed her softly on the cheek, ripping her already broken heart into shreds.

_'Why did I do that?' _Adam asked himself, _'Adam Banks, you are the biggest moron in the entire damn world!' _Dani watched Adam walk away. Her cheek was burning and she felt hot tears drip down her face, making the pain even more excruciating. Dean could never keep himself to himself, could he? Why did he have to dictate every decision that Dani made? Why was she so fucking unlucky to have three overprotective brothers that were quickly training the fourth to be so as well.

"Dean Portman, I'm going to fucking kill you..." She whispered as Adam's back left her view, "I'm going to send your crazy ass straight to hell!"

T------T

It had been all of seven hours since Adam had broken up with her and Dani had gone out to find a large milkshake to drown her sorrows in. She hadn't forgotten about her self-promise to hurt Dean when she saw him, but she hadn't so she couldn't...

"DANI!" She heard from across the street. Dani looked up and saw Tammy hand-in-hand with Fulton, who was standing next to Mrs. Reed (she had a very big, happy grin on her face), and who else could have been there other then Dean. Excellent, she didn't mind if there were eyewitnesses, the more the merrier! She was too pissed off to worry about other people.

"Hi guys." Dani called back with a cheery tone of voice. She raced crossed the street with a smile on her face, "What are you guys doing?"

"Well, I am trying not to puke or get a cavity with all of the sugary sweetness coming from these two." Dean said nonchalantly towards Tammy and Fulton, who shot him a dirty look, "And I'm trying to avoid the gaze of lovingness and triumph coming from Beth over here." Bethany smacked Dean lightly on the arm, "Sorry, Mrs. Reed. I couldn't resist."

"Mom hates being called 'Beth'." Fulton said to the befuddled expression on Dani's face.

Dani nodded in acknowledgment, "I'll have to keep that in mind." She said.

"Hey, Dan." Dean said, "What's that?" He pointed to the milkshake in her hands.

"It's a chocolate/chocolate chip/peppermint extra thick milkshake." Dani replied as he lips curled upwards slightly. Dean loved milkshakes, it was his 'manly guilty pleasure', whatever the hell that meant.

"Dani..." Dean held his hands up in a pleading position. He looked at his best friend with a questioning look in his eye and back to the milkshake. Dani raised and eyebrow and Dean gave in by pouting out his lower lip. Dani laughed and took the top off of her shake cup, Dean knew that she hated sharing straws, and she held it out towards him. As he reached out for it, Dani thrust her arm upwards and poured the remaining shake out over the top of his head, "What the fuck was that for?"

"Are you trying to be stupid, or were you born without the ability to ignore you very patient sister's very clear requests?" Dean shook some of the shake off of his arms. He was extremely glad that he hadn't worn his leather jacket as he had planned to do, "Why can't you just leave my personal and love lives alone? I'm sixteen, I don't need a knight in shining armor any more!"

"Dani..." Dean tried to break through her angry rant.

"And you aren't dad, so back the fuck off!" Dani cut him off, "If I ever need one, he's who I'll go to." Dani dropped the cup in the trashcan next to her and tensed up, pulling her hands to her face. It was obvious that she wanted to say something, but she thought better of it and ran off down the street.

"Damn she's fast." Tammy observed.

"What the fuck was that about?" Dean asked.

"My guess... Two words, three syllables: Adam Banks." Fulton said as he watched a pissed off Dani stop at the end of the street and lean against a pole.

"Shit, I have to go talk to her." Dean said.

"No!" Tammy told them as she held on to an non-sticky portion of Dean's jacket sleeve. "I'll talk to her. You're probably the last person that she wants to see or talk to right about now." Tammy let go and ran down the street to catch up with Dani before she ran off some more.

"Dude, I think that we should go." Dean nodded and moved to go in the same direction as Tammy, "I meant that way..." Fulton said as he pulled Dean away in the opposite direction. "I'll see you on Friday, mom."

"Bye, son."

"Dani. Wait up!" Tammy called as Dani moved to run off again. "Will you stop for five seconds and tell me what happened."

"You want to know what happened?" Dani asked with anger in her voice and tears in her eyes, "Adam broke up with me and it's that fucking pinheads fault!"

"What?"

"Dean found out that we had gone out, and now I am single... And hating it!" Dani sighed, "I swear I wish I was an only child."


	35. Please Talk To Me

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** I agree with you, I hate older brother. Same as you, I don't have to worry about it, because I don't have any... YAY US! I'm glad that you liked the last chapter and hopefully you will like the rest of the story.

**BrokenAngel1753-** Yup, Adam dumped her, and it's all Dean's fault. Don't you hate break-ups like that? Getting back together might happen later in the story, so stick around to find out!

(--------)

Sighing angrily at the math homework that was on his desk, Greg Goldberg threw his pencil over his head, onto the floor, and proceeded that by banging his head on the faux wooden desktop. "Ow... Ow… Ow..." He murmured as his head collided with the desk. Why did he have to get stuck in Advanced Geometry? Sure, he was better at math then most, and much better at it then the majority of other subjects that he took, but honestly it was starting to get a little bit annoying.

"You know that that kills your brain cells, right?" A voice asked from the bathroom doorway.

"Do I look like I care, Dwayne?" Goldberg asked monotonously. He sighed heavily again and stared at the door, "I'm going out... I'll worry about homework later." Dwayne waved as he watched his roommate stalk out of the room with a huff. He was really unhappy about something, but Dwayne wasn't sure what. Oh, well, he'd get over it eventually.

As Goldberg walked, he thought. Not really about anything important, but he had a bad feeling about something and he wasn't sure what about. He wasn't exactly watching were he was going, so he was rather surprised when knocked into a small figure and tripped on a large book. "Oh, sorry." He mumbled as he attempted to shake the stars from his eyes.

"That's okay, Greg." A tiny voice replied. Goldberg was shocked to hear someone call him by his first name, considering it barely ever happened. He looked up and saw Tarah Oldman, a very nice and pretty girl from Luis' Creative Writing class. She was also in the band, so the Ducks knew her from getting congratulations after games and such; the band was full of nice people like that, but most people just thought that they were weird.

"Greg?" He asked.

"It's your name, isn't it?" Tarah asked.

"Well, yeah." Goldberg said, "But most people just call me Goldie or Goldberg."

Tarah shrugged, "I like the name Greg." She explained, "It was my great grandfather's name and he and I were pretty close before he died."

"Oh, you can call me it if you want."

"Thanks." Tarah said cheerily as she picked up the book that Goldberg had tripped on. It was all three of the Lord of the Rings books in one, no wonder it was so big. Several papers had fallen out of Tarah's arms, and Goldberg took this opportunity to be chivalrous and lunged at the papers as the attempted to fly away. He shook the dirt from them, placed them in order by the numbers on the upper right corner, and handed them back to her. "Thanks." She repeated with a smile. Man, he would chase after papers for a girl, too. Damn it, why did he have to be so sweet? Sure, he wasn't a Dean Portman or Adam Banks, but who cared?

"You already said that."

"Two different times, two different meanings, same message." Tarah said, "Sorry, it's something that my great grandfather used to say all the time. You know, you're a really sweet guy." She waved it off and leaned forward, kissing him on the cheek and pulled back with a look for what-the-hell-did-I-just-do, "Um. Bye." She said quickly and ran off.

"Whoa." Goldberg said, not able to think of anything else.

(--------)

"Goldie? Goldie? Goldberg?" Charlie asked in a singsong voice. Goldberg had been in an entirely too chirpy mood every time that any of them had seen him in the last two days. Right now he happened to be humming along to some weird rock ballad from the '80's and he was beginning to scare his present teammates, "Oh, dear Gregory?"

Goldberg looked around the table at everybody, "What?"

"Dude, you were humming again." Fulton said as he lifted a pizza slice to his mouth, "And you haven't taken a slice of pizza yet." He changed his voice to motherly concern, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Ha ha." Goldberg replied, deadpanned. "Funny. Hysterical. A bundle 'o laughs." He shook his head and pulled a slice of one of the pizzas on the table. It was surprising to all of them how easy it was to get pizza on campus, if you pay with your own money and cleaned up the mess, the Dean had no problem with it.

"Has anyone seen Portman lately?" Ken asked, looking around the room and noticing that, yet again, Dean Portman was no where to be seen.

"He's probably begging Dani to talk to him again." Fulton said, remembering the incident between the siblings. Adam heard this and lowered his head to his pizza, but no one noticed. "She just can up to him and poured a milkshake over his head."

"She had a reason." Tammy called as she entered the room after listening to the conversation from the doorway, "And if he didn't tell you, then it's not my place to tell, so get that look off of your face." She pulled a pizza slice to her face and took a bite. "Oh, sausage and onions... Who ordered this?"

"That would be me." Julie said.

"A girl after my own heart."

"Dani! Talk to me!" Dean's voice carried into the room as Dani huffed through the door and Dean followed her. "Dani, please. Dani-Girl, what did I do? What can I do to make you talk to me?"

"What can you do?" Dani asked frighteningly calm, "WHAT CAN YOU DO?" Well that ended fast, "You can mind your own damned business for once in your life, you asshole." Adam sunk down into his seat even more and hoped that neither twin would notice him doing so.

"Dani..." Dean tried to protest.

"Dean, I am going to be here until school gets out, maybe a little before." Dani explained, "How about you leave me the hell alone that whole time. That'll be hunky-dory don't you think?" She stormed out of the room and let the tears flow once she had left. Adam had hidden from the argument and she knew it. He was almost inhumanly perfect, but she didn't care, she wanted to be with a guy that would treat her well, and she knew that he would. She wanted Dean to stop treating her like that sickly little girl that he originally hadn't come to Eden Hall for. She could take care of herself, but he didn't seem to comprehend that.

"What the fuck is going on?" Dean asked himself out loud.

"If you need to ask that, then you are a fucking moron." Tammy replied. Everyone around her stared, "What?" She asked. "Is it a crime for a girl like me to swear?"

"Tammy, would you please at least talk to her for me?"

"Um." Tammy feigned thought and sighed, "No." Dean gave her a defeated look that none of the Ducks had ever seen before, "I stick to what I said before, if you need to ask then you're a fucking moron." Dean looked over to Connie and Julie for support and answers, hoping beyond hope that Dani had confided in them. They shook their heads and held up their hands in a we-don't-know-anything gesture.

"No offense." Dean said, "But women are just plain weird."

Connie, Julie, and Tammy looked from one another and back to Dean, "We know."


	36. Our Surprises from Hell

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** Tammy does have guts to stand up to people when she wants to have them. I kind of figured that she would be the best person to drop Dean down a few notches; glad you agree. Thanks!

**foreeverjinxed-** Thank you, I like to know that my story is appreciated. I know that my chapters tend to be short sometimes, but I have this thing about rambling. I ramble a lot when I talk to people and it tends to get confusing for them and me, I don't like to do that when I am writing, so I do look at the size of a chapter to make sure I don't ramble. The chapters might be somewhat longer soon, especially as they get closer to the Olympics and what I have planned at that time.

(-------)

Thanksgiving. The one day that meant the most to Kal and Alyssa Portman. The day that caused their twins the most pain. Why had no one called or written or something to tell them what was going on? Did they honestly not think that they wouldn't know? Dani sat in her dorm room, while Dean had dinner with Fulton and Mrs. Reed, both of them with their minds on the dinner that their parents _should _be sharing at that moment. Both twins shook the thought out of their heads and continued with what they were doing.

As Dean ate, Dani sat alone in her room, staring at the most recent of 'gifts', left for her by the 'secret admirer' that was leaving things every week without fail. Today, a plain yellow package with bubble wrap inside had been left in front of the door after Tammy and Gia left to meet their families (or in Gia's case, her fiancé, Dale's, family). As she ran her fingers under the flap and ripped the thick paper, she shuttered and sighed, almost fearing what she might find.

Many times, Dani had asked herself why she didn't just call the police or throw away the gifts, and she never had an answer. It was as if she was a robot and she couldn't push the gifts away and Dani had a sinking feeling that that was what whoever was doing this wanted. She sighed again as she placed her hand into the package and pulled out a petal-less rose. Her hand was covered with red from smashed petals and she let a tear drip from her eye as she pulled out the final part of the gift, a picture of Adam. She turned it over and read the inscription that had been written in magic marker.

**You're better off without him. He doesn't care about you. You may feel pain now, but it will all be over soon. All we have to do now is rid ourselves of your brother and we can be happy.**

Dani choked as she read this. She didn't want to believe that Adam didn't care about her, he had told her that he did. Then why did he dump her? No! He had his reasons to break off their relationship, but he _did _care about her, and nothing that this sick freak said -or wrote- would change that.

Dani wiped her tears away as her cell phone rang, she didn't want anyone to know that anything was wrong. She wiped the rose petals off of her hand and picked up her phone, "Hello."

"Hey, baby." Dani scowled.

"Baby? Who the fuck are you calling 'baby', Malone?" Dani spat, "If I remember correctly, I dumped you after I found you at the Senior Ditch Day party with Rita Seline's tongue down your throat. And after that, I find out that since I didn't have sex with you, you found plenty of love from Maria. Whom you are currently dating."

"Yeah, those were mistakes, babe. You know I love you."

"Wilson... Fuck off and leave me alone." Dani said sourly, "I hate you and I wish that you will fall, break your neck, and die from choking on your own puke. And I'm sure that Maria is waiting for you right now, so find her."

"But Dani-cakes, sweetie buns..."

"Don't call me that." Dani snapped, "I am not a pastry of any sort, so leave me alone. I'm over you."

"Oh, I doubt that."

"Well, don't," Dani said quickly, "I have a new boyfriend." She feigned looking at her watch, "Oh, look at the time. I have to go get ready for my date. Bye." She snapped the phone shut and sighed again, pulling a pillow to her chest and stuffing her face into the pillow.

(-------)

Becky sighed as she made her way from her wheelchair to the pool that she used for physical therapy. She only had an hour of therapy left and then she could go home and eat all the turkey and mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie with whipped cream that she wanted. Becky remembered what Dani had said about her foot ticking and she smiled, there could be hope after all. Looking around the room, Becky couldn't help but wonder about the other people in the room with her. Most of them were adults or teenagers, but did they have a nice Thanksgiving to get to?

"Hi Becky." Becky jumped, "Calm down sweetie."

"Hi Mattie." Becky replied, "I didn't hear you."

"Well, I have been known to walk lightly." Mattie said, "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing." Becky said dismally.

"Yeah, I believe that." Mattie said sarcastically, "Come on, tell me, all of my patients are gone for the day. Besides, I'm here to help you. Your regularly scheduled nurse is out of town for the holiday, so your PT asked me to help fill in for the last part of your session."

"You sounded like a public service announcement just then." Becky replied, "'Your regularly scheduled' sounds like what they say on TV when they interrupt what you are trying to watch with a 'public service announcement' for 'the betterment of the community', when all it really is for is to tell you that there will be two inches of snow that night and to watch for more of the story at 11:00."

"You know a lot about that kind of stuff, don't you?"

"I can't really do much else." Becky retorted, slightly more angrily then she had intended.

"I know, honey. I'm sorry."

"No, I'm sorry." Becky responded, "I guess that I go my hopes up that maybe one day I would walk again... But that's never going to happen."

"Hey, Becky... There's always a miracle."

"I highly doubt that that is the case this time." Becky sighed again.

"Becky, feeling sorry for yourself and being a pessimist is not going to help much either." Mattie said, "You have to be confident and say 'I can do this!', even if no one else wants to believe you."

"Dani believes me."

"Okay, one of these days, I'm going to have to meet this 'Danny' that you keep talking about." Mattie said, "Is he your boyfriend?"

"No." Becky replied, trying not to laugh, "It's spelled D-A-N-I, it's short for Danielle. She's a member of my uncle's team."

"Oh, whoops." Mattie said, blushing, "Now that's an embarrassing blunder for me, myself, and I." Becky laughed lowly, but it was enough for Mattie to hear her, "Well at least I got a laugh out of you, _bebé_." **(Spanish: Baby.)**

(----------)

Scooter pulled his black tee shirt over his still wet head. Basketball practice had been over for a good thirty minutes, but he enjoyed having the locker room to himself, it was quite and good for thinking. At least, it usually was... "Scooter." A pompous voice said from behind him. Scooter froze, _'Please be dreaming... This isn't happening...'_ He urged himself. "What? No welcome for an old friend?"

"We haven't been friends for a long time, Rick." Scooter replied, "Not since you showed me your true colors." He turned around to face his former friend and captain.

"'True colors'?" Rick asked, "What are you talking about?"

"All the pranks and trying to get the Ducks kicked out and..." Scooter stopped, he didn't want to remember the last bit, but Rick egged him on, "what you wanted me to do."

"Oh right..." Rick laughed, "I remember that. I wanted you to land the Cat and to get the Varsity some enjoyment afterwards."

"And if you remember correctly, I didn't enjoy the idea of a Gang Bang on Julie as much as _you_ liked the idea." Scooter was ready to spit in his face, or punch him, either would work.

"Yeah... You always were a little prudish."

"Prudish?" Scooter asked indignantly, "I think the term 'moral' is what should come to mind. As in I have them. You know, morals?" Rick laughed, making Scooter want to A) get out of there as fast as possible, and B) puke.

"Scooter, Scooter, Scooter." Rick said as if he was tsking him, "She's a little immature for you, don't you think? I mean, you could do so much better."

"Oh yeah?" Scooter asked, too caught up in defending Julie to notice that Rick was getting closer to him by the second, "Like who?"

Rick laughed, "I was hoping that you would ask that question." Scooter furrowed his eyebrows as Rick smiled. A second later, Rick had Scooter's head in his hands and pulled Scooter's mouth on his own. Scooter struggled against the very strong person that was holding him against the wall. He placed his hands on Rick's chest and was finally able to push him off.

"What are you doing?" He asked, stunned. He placed his hands on his lips to stop the throbbing pain that was setting in. _'Mindy was right, he is rough... Not what you need to think about Scooter!' _

"Well I would think that that was obvious."

Scooter shook his head, trying to comprehend what was going on, "Look, man, I am happy that you found this part of yourself... But, if you haven't noticed, I'm with _Julie_... who is a girl." He punctuated every word of the last part of the sentence to get the fact that he was straight through Rick's head.

"I think I can fix that." Rick said with a conniving tone in his voice. Scooter backed away, but Rick was able to grab his collar and push him back against the wall, crashing his lips onto Scooter's in an tense, heated, passionate kiss (in Scooter's case it was also awkward, uncomfortable, confusing, and immensely painful).

"WHAT THE FUCK?" A voice called making Rick pull away. He turned towards the door, Scooter's collar still in his hand, and smiled at what he saw.

"Julie." Scooter whispered as he pushed a distracted Rick off of him, "Julie, please. This isn't what it looks like." Scooter's heart was breaking into pieces as he watched a tear drip from Julie's eye before she ran off, "Julie, wait!" He screamed, running after her.

"Let her go." Rick said in a pseudo-seductive voice as he grabbed a hold of Scooter's wrist, "You don't need her."

"Get off of me, Rick." Scooter said as he wrenched his arm out of Rick's grasp, "JULIE!" He called as he ran off to find her.

(--------)

Julie had been lucky to get to the bus stop just in time to get on the bus en route to Edina before it left, she seriously needed her mother, sister, and all the chocolate she could lay her hands on. She practically jumped off of the bus when the door opened and raced down the street to her mother's house. "Oh please be home." She begged, "And don't let Adam see me."

She raced up the front steps and eagerly knocked on the door. Through the door, Julie heard the surprisingly comforting Dutch accent of Adriaan mumble something along the lines of 'alright, I'm coming', he wasn't in the best of moods. However all of that changed when he opened the door and saw Julie, "This is a pleasant surprise."

"Is mom or Piper here?" Julie asked as she tried, unsuccessfully, to keep her tears to herself.

"Of course." Adriaan replied in a soothing tone, "Jada, Piper. You have a visitor in distress." Julie listened to her sister jump down the stairs and her mother's soft footsteps come from the direction of the kitchen.

"Julie?" Piper asked.

"Honey? What's wrong?" Jada stepped back a little in surprise when Julie clasped her arms around her and began sobbing. "Adriaan, could you..." Adriaan nodded and left the room.

"Julie?" Piper asked, placing her hands on Julie's tense shoulders, "Jules? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Come on." Jada said as she led her daughters over to the couch. Julie momentarily noticed that the couch smelled like her Gram Prince's (better known as just Grams) perfume, but she was too distraught to dwell on that fact for long. "What's wrong, baby?"

"Oh nothing." Julie said, "I just found my boyfriend in the boys basketball locker room making out with another guy. A guy that I hate and I think must die, I might add."

"Scooter did what?" Piper asked, "I'm going to kill him!"

Jada cast her a stern glare, "There will be no killing of anyone." She said, "Jules, are you sure that you saw what you think you saw?"

"Mom," Julie said, "His lips were on Rick Reily's lips... I saw it, and now I want to forget it."

"Who's Rick Reily?" Jada asked.

"The old Varsity's captain." Julie explained, "He started a prank war against the Ducks last year and he tried to get us all kicked out of Eden Hall." The doorbell rang and Julie looked over in the direction of the door.

"Adriaan, can you get that. Please." Jada called. Adriaan nodded for them to continue as he rushed passed.

"You got a crackerjack there mom." Julie sniffled.

"I still say I want to kill Scooter." Piper said, "Or at least cause him major physical pain."

"You don't need to." Julie turned towards the door and saw Scooter standing next to Adriaan with his hands in his pockets. She sniffled again and threw a large pillow at him, which caught him directly in the face. "Okay, I deserve that. But, Julie, I swear that it was all Rick. I would never to that to you, I care to much about you."

"Yeah, yeah." Piper mumbled, clearly taking her sister's side.

"Piper Addison." Jada scowled, "We'll give you two some time alone." She made to move and pull a reluctant Piper with her, but Scooter stopped her.

"No need, I did what I came to do." Scooter replied, "I'm sorry Julie, I'm still here if you want me to be." He turned to leave.

"Wait." Julie said abruptly. Scooter couldn't stop the feeling of giddiness and happiness surge through his heart as she stopped him. He turned, "How did you find me?"

"I called the Ducks." Scooter replied, "All of them were at Charlie's place and I asked if they knew were Piper lived. Apparently Adam knows really well."

"No really?" Piper asked sarcastically.

"Piper." Julie scolded, "Please shut up."

"I'm just saying." Julie glared at her and Scooter turned back around to leave. She watched him through the window as he got back inside his car and drive off.

Julie groaned as laid her head in her mother's lap, "Why does dating have to be so complicated? And why does the gay man have to have the hots for _my _boyfriend?"


	37. Thy Friends Save Thee

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** Weird chapter? Still in shock? Well I should hope so, that was kind of the reaction that I was hoping for! I'm glad that you like the way that the story is coming along and I hope that this chapter fits in nicely with what you are expecting (even if you don't expect what happens).

**mickEmousina-** Rick making out with Scooter, Scooter with Julie? Which is more gross, that is the question. Well, this should pan itself out nicely, don't you think? I personally can't wait to see what happens between Julie, Rick, Scooter, and Dean... But then again, I'm writing this, so of course I have to be interested in what I'm writing or else the story will be boring.

Thank you to BrokenAngel1753!

(-------)

Charlie sighed and twiddled his thumbs as he waited for his mother to arrive at the hospital for her appointment with her OB/GYN, Dr. Kimber O'Neill. He was sure that his mother would be rather surprised to see him there, but he wanted to be with her through her pregnancy, unlike his jackass of a stepfather... Excuse him, _ex-_stepfather, "Hello Charlie." Charlie jumped.

"Oh, hi Dr. O'Neill." Charlie replied.

"Are you going to be joining your mother today?" Charlie nodded, "Even after what happened last time?" She joked, a smile gracing her somewhere-between-full-and-thin lips.

"That was a long and large needle!" Charlie defended himself while grimacing, "I didn't _intend _to faint, but you poked a huge needle through my mother. It was odd." Charlie shuttered, remembering the long needle that Dr. O'Neill had used to remove some of the baby's DNA to check for genetic diseases.

"At least we know that the baby is healthy." Dr. O'Neill reasoned. Charlie nodded as he looked out the window, waiting for his mother. "Do you think your mother will want to know if it is a boy or girl of not?"

"Probably not, she has this thing about surprises."

"What about you?"

Charlie thought for a moment, would he want to know whether the baby was a boy or girl if his mother didn't? Shaking his head, Charlie replied, "No, if my mom doesn't want to know, then I'll go through the anxiousness and surprise with her." Dr. O'Neill nodded.

"Charlie?" A voice called. Charlie smiled, his mother had arrived for her appointment. Casey walked up to her son and hugged him, "I thought that you weren't coming this time, after what happened."

"Yeah." Charlie said sheepishly, "Can we forget about that?" Casey laughed, "So, don't we have an appointment to get to?"

"Actually, I'm early." Casey replied.

"And I'm getting in what few moments of peace that I have left in the day, because after you two, I'm going to be busy." Dr. O'Neill added. "So, I think that you can wait a few minutes." Charlie sighed causing the doctor and his mother to have to stifle their laughter, they knew that he got a little queasy when it came to being a an OB/GYN appointment. "Don't worry, you won't have to wait too long."

"Yeah, yeah." Charlie mumbled, looking down the hall. A door opened and he saw Adam, Monica, Mrs. Banks, and Mr. Banks exit with a male doctor about 45 years old with light brown skin. Mr. Banks had his hand wrapped and he was holding it close to his ribs, "Hey Adam." Charlie called.

Adam made his way over to his friend and the slapped palms, "Hey." He replied.

Casey waved politely, "What happened to your hand?" She asked Mr. Banks, who blushed lightly and motioned that it was nothing. Adam sighed and reenacted his father shutting his hand in a window. Neither of his parents saw it, so he was in the clear to show the others. Charlie jumped when his mother groaned. He looked over in concern, "Kidney shot." She said to calm down her son, "This kid has one nasty kick."

"Or slap shot." Charlie added hopefully. Adam laughed lightly and Casey sighed and shook her head, Charlie had a one track hockey mind sometimes. "What, it might be."

"Nurse Gonzalez, what the heck are you doing?" The male doctor spoke out of the blue. He was facing the door that lead to the pediatric ward, his outburst causing Dr. O'Neill's attention to go to the door as well. There a very attractive Latina women was still moving her shoulders in a dance like manner.

"Hi, Mattie." Dr. O'Neill added.

"Dr. O'Neill, Dr. Courbet." Mattie replied, "Sorry about that, but I just saw the thing that everyone in this hospital wants to see. Or at least, I can see it coming." She smiled happily.

Dr. Courbet smiled, "Is someone about to kill McAllister?"

"Very close." Mattie said; Dr. O'Neill clapped happily. "I can see it coming. It will happen soon."

"Um... Who is 'McAllister'?" Mrs. Banks asked.

Mattie sighed, "Dr. Irvin James Louis _Quincy _McAllister." She said in an irritated high-pitched voice, "He's the head of pediatric medicine here at the hospital. He's rude to the staff, has horrible manners, thinks that everyone is below him, practically blows off his patients and their parents worries or questions, and believes that he is the godsend of children's medicine." She gave a disgusted sigh.

Dr. O'Neill took over, "Needless to say, he isn't very popular. Everyone knows that one of these days one parent is going to be sent through the roof and will lose their patience with him." She pulled her hair behind her shoulders, "And if I weren't here, the little idiot would have much of a job. I'm the one that gets them out of there."

"And I'm that one that has to fix all of the long term mistakes that he made." Dr. Courbet added, "I'm the adult specialist, after all. Who is losing it?"

"There's this 10 year old girl in physical therapy, her father has had it to China and back about 20 times with him." Mattie said as the door slammed open. "Speak of the devil." She added. All of the group turned to the door and Charlie and Adam felt their jaws drop as they saw their coach and Becky enter, Becky obviously attempting to calm her father down. "Hey Becky."

"Hi Mattie." Becky replied, "Hey Monica." Becky noticed that her father seemed to calm down once he saw the people in the hallway. More then likely he was trying not to look like a complete jackass in front of his captain and best player. He lowered his gaze and ran his hand through his hair without saying a word. "Daddy, isn't that Uncle Eric's car?" She asked, pointing out the window.

Ted looked in the direction that his daughter was pointing. Sure enough, right outside the window was his brother's car, so what was he doing here? "Yes, it is."

"Do you think he's okay?" Becky asked in a worried voice.

"Oh he's fine." A voice said from the doorway of the room at the very end of the other side of the hall, "He's peachy, just a big worrywart. Not that I blame him." Tammy walked up to them with a big smile on her face. Not to miss a beat, she managed to flick Adam in the ear when she passed; he gave a sigh of discomfort and Tammy sighed, "Big baby."

"Um, Tammy." Charlie said once he stopped all of his laughter from Adam getting flicked, "What the heck are you doing here?"

Tammy sighed, "Um, that's a rather complicated matter that would be best not discussed here." She said cryptically. Charlie furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, even though he had no idea what she was talking about, but he had a feeling that that was what Tammy wanted. "Oy... Queen Stubborn enters."

"A-ha, a-ha..." Adam stiffed as he heard Dani's 'cynical' laugh. He had heard plenty of her laughs and categorized them, he wasn't sure why; all that mattered was that he knew that she was there and he didn't want to be, "'Queen Stubborn'? At least I'm the queen, Princess. Forgive me for hating hospitals and syringes." She pulled up her arm to show a blue bandage wrapped around her elbow. "Now, I'm going to the car, you guys... do whatever."

The look in Tammy's eyes showed that she was franticly trying to think of something, and when her eyes brightened, "Mathieu!" She called. A tall and lean blonde gentlemen with a air of poise and respectability exited the room at the sound of his name.

"_Qui_?" He asked as he stopped near the group.

"Could you do me a teeny-tiny favor?" Mathieu nodded, "Great, that's fantastic. Could you carry Dani to the car, please."

"Huh?" Dani and Mathieu asked together. Charlie looked over and noticed that Adam had a look on his face that indicated he was trying not to swallow his tongue.

"So that she doesn't hurt herself."

"TAMMY! I fainted on the ice, big whoop." Dani argued. "I am perfectly capable of walking 25 feet to the car." Tammy cast a pleading glance to Mathieu, who accepted her idea and lifted Dani off of her feet and into his arms. "Mathieu!" Dani protested as the young man walked forward.

"Oh, come on, Dani." Tammy called after her, "Let the tall and handsome French guy carry you to the car. He's got a lovely accent." She laughed and turned to the group, "Well, that's my coach." She pointed down the hall towards Eric and Joey. "Gotta go." She bounded off towards the car.

"That was Dani." Becky told Mattie as she and Ted left in confusion.

Adam walked over to a wall and began making his head collide with it, "I am an idiot... A complete moron..." He repeated each over and over as he banged his head on the wall.

"I must agree." Charlie said. Adam shot him an angry glare, "What? You had Dani. Beautiful, smart, funny, athletic Dani. And what do you do? YOU BROKE UP WITH HER!"

"Gee, I didn't feel bad enough already. Thanks, Charlie."

"Welcome, Banksie." He siad, "As your friend, it is my job to help you rectify your mistakes. And that, my friend, was one _big _mistake."

(-------)

Dani sat in her room, just reading. Today was one of those days that she could relax, for more then one reason. First, she hadn't received a 'gift' from her 'secret admirer' in three days. Second, she had fainted on the ice earlier that day, so the doctor said that she had to take it easy for a couple of days. That meant minimal to no practices, which was fine with her coach as long as if was only a couple of days; he didn't need a stressed out and exhausted skater. And third, Dean wasn't trying to bug her to get her to talk to him.

"Come in." She said as a knock came on the door.

"_Bonjour, mon chere_." **(French: Hello, my dear.)**

"Hi Mathieu." Dani replied, putting her book down, "Thanks for putting up with me earlier, I was being a big pain."

"_Qui_." Mathieu agreed. Dani scoffed indignantly as she playfully slapped him on the arm, "At least you are okay." He added. His watch beeped, "Oh no, I have to go. Josephine promised to take me around the city." Dani nodded, "Although, I must ask, why do you and the other team members and your coach call Josephine 'Joey'?"

"It takes less time to say, Monsieur Cartier." Dani said, Mathieu's name was spoken in a near perfect French accent (acquired by her because Doe was in love with all things France and had taken to learning all about them, pulling her and Leah and Eve along for the ride. Dani didn't know much of the language, but she had the accent down perfectly). Mathieu nodded and left.

Tammy came into the room just as Dani pulled her book back up, "Did Mathieu just leave?"

"Uh-huh." Dani replied, "He wanted to make sure that I was okay, lovely French gentlemen." Tammy nodded as Dani put her book back down, "Tammy, I know what you did at the hospital and I wanted to say thanks, but you don't need to."

"Do what?" Tammy asked, feigning confusion.

"Tammy, the only reason you asked Mathieu to carry me was so that Adam would get jealous." Tammy knew that she had been caught the moment she had walked into the room, "You didn't need to, that won't make him want to take me back."

Tammy smiled, "Dani, I want to repay you for what you did." Dani furrowed her eyebrows in bafflement, "You did what it took to get me and Fulton together, and I thank you for that. A lot, I thank you." Dani laughed, "Adam was, and is, really great for you, I could see that he made you happy." Dani lowered her gaze, "I want to thank you for not giving up on me and Fulton, and the only way I can think to do that is to get you two back together if it is the last thing that I do."


	38. Fixing the Bonds of Brothers and Sisters

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**Lilmonkey1507-** I forgive you for not reviewing, I'm glad that you are still reading. I hope that I'm not boring anybody. Yup, it's upsetting that Adam and Dani split up, life just sucks that way sometimes. I have never thought that I was good with suspense, so I am happy that you think so, it gives me a big confidence boost and warm feelings... Moving on, I hope that you aren't disappointed with the rest of the story!

Thank you PrincessH!

(-------)

Shaking and crying, for what seemed like the millionth time in about two month period, Dani pulled a tiny box towards her that she had been avoiding like the plague for the last two days. She thought that her strength to stop playing into her secret admirer's hands was getting better... obviously not. She unclasped the box and clamped her eyes shut as she opened it, telling herself that she would close the box and then open her eyes... that didn't work to well.

She opened her eyes before shutting the box and saw a two carat diamond engagement ring gleaming in the sunlight. Dani swallowed and let the tears of anger and fright exit her eyes. She closed the box, pulled her arm back, and threw the box in a random direction. A crash caught her attention and she looked towards her dresser. The box had crashed into a picture that she had of her parent's wedding day and knocked it off of her dresser, shattering the glass.

"Mom, dad." She whispered as she picked up the frame and pieces of glass. A knock came on the door and Dani quickened her pace, "Come in." She called as she threw all the glass into the garbage can. "Oh." She said as Dean came into the room.

He chuckled, "Rock star moment?" He asked. Dani sat on her bed, "I heard a crash, that's why I asked."

"FYI: I knocked into my dresser and mom and dad's wedding picture feel." She lied, "What do you want?"

Dean sighed at her angry tone, "Dani, I want to talk."

"I don't." She replied.

"Then listen." Dani sighed and reclined against her pillow, waiting for Dean to talk, "I truly don't know what I did to make you so pissed and with the way that this is going, I doubt that I ever will." Dani scoffed, "I wanted to give you this, call it an extremely late birthday present." He pulled a wrapped box out of his jacket pocket and gave it to her.

Dani furrowed her eyebrows and pulled off the wrapping paper, "You got me and iPod?" Dean nodded, "How much?"

"About $250, and I already put some songs that I knew you liked on it."

"So around the same as I payed for that jacket." Dani replied, "Thank you, but I'm still mad at you."

"And I will never know why." Dean said, "All I know is that you started hating me after I saw you and Adam out on your date."

"Which date?" Dani asked, she silently laughed at the expression on Dean's face as she asked this, daring her to be serious, "I'm not joking, which date?"

"You went out on more then one?"

Dani sighed, "Dean, Adam and I didn't just go out on a date." Dean wondered whether he really wanted to hear this, "We were dating. You know, boyfriend/girlfriend, holding hands, kissing..."

"Stop now." Dean said, "I can't have that image in my head."

Dani took her chance to make him suffer, "He's actually very good at it..."

"Ahhhh! Stop, please."

"If you even think about hurting him now, I will hurt you." Dani said, "Besides, after you saw us, he told me that you found out and then he broke up with me. Thanks bro." She said sarcastically.

Dean looked somewhat remorseful, "I'm sorry Dani. I guess I will never forget how to be your knight in shining armor."

"We're not kids anymore, Dean." Dani said, "I can take care a myself a little now."

Dean stood up, "Now that that is out of the way and I feel kinda bad, what was it that I heard from Charlie about a French guy carrying you?"

Dani laughed, "Mathieu Cartier. He's Joey's little brother." Dean shrugged confused, "Joey. My Coaches girlfriend." Dean nodded understandingly, "I fainted on the ice that Dani and Coach made me go to the hospital. Adam and Charlie were there, so Tammy asked Mathieu to carry me to the car so that Adam would get jealous." Dean grimaced, "I don't know if it worked or not."

"I wouldn't doubt it." Dean said hesitantly, "Are you okay, no problems from the fainting?"

"Stress." Dani replied, "That's what the doctor said. I was stressed."

"Oh. That's good, that's easy to fix." It was obvious that he felt guilty, "So... there is no chance that you would get together with this Mathieu guy?"

Dani scoffed, "I knew you would ask that."

"Sorry."

She shrugged, "No, me and Mathieu would never happen. He's 21 and he has a girlfriend."

"Okay, good."

"Yup, she's from the Bronx."

"Ah, Dad's old living area."

"Yes, New York."

Dean shifted, "Did I ever tell you that I got a call from Aunt Mickie?" Dani sat up quickly, "Yeah, it was over the summer."

"And you tell me now?" Dani asked indignantly.

Dean sighed, "She wanted me to tell Dad that she had moved to Philly and that if we were ever in town that she wanted to see him and us. I told her that she shouldn't be scared to tell him herself, or come and see us, but she hung up."

"Dean, do you remember what happened between dad and Aunt Mickie?" Dani asked as if she didn't believe her ears, "She told him that she hated him and that he never cared about her if he was going to leave her with the 'Demon parents', I think that was what she called them. Of course she was scared to call her, scared that he was mad at her."

"I know, but you gotta hope that she would."

"I know." Dani said as she thought hard. What else did she know? Then it hit her, "Where did you say that she moved to?"

"Philadelphia." Dani smiled, "What?"

"I have a show in Philadelphia in March."

"Don't tell Goldberg." Dean warned.

"Why?"

"He's originally from there. Tell him and he will latch himself about your waist and beg you to take him with you, and then I will have to kill him."

"Well we wouldn't want that, now would we?" Dani said as she smiled.

"Now that's all I wanted to see." Dean said as he reached out and tapped Dani on the nose. Dani reached over and tapped him in the same way, "Hey, everyone is going out for ice cream, wanna come?"

Dani smiled, "Oh, ice cream."

(------)

Dani smiled as she entered the coffee shop that Dean had brought her to. She hated being made at Dean, but sometimes he made it hard to not be. "Hi guys." She said as she sat down at the table that the Ducks and Tammy were sharing.

"Are you speaking to him again?" Tammy asked as she nodded towards Dean, who was getting ice cream for himself and Dani.

"Yes, I am." Dani said. Adam gave a small smile and lowered his head. Dani knew that he would be uncomfortable around her, especially with the whole deal with Mathieu, but she still was glad that she came, "Oh." She added as Dean stuck her orange treat in front of her face. "Yummy." She said as she took a bite.

"Pig." Dean mumbled. Dani smiled sarcastically and stuck her tongue out at Dean, causing him to recoil at the sight of the melting orange in her mouth, "Ew."

"Girl." Dani shot back, causing the Ducks to laugh. Dani took that as a chance to look around. The shop was almost empty, save two elderly ladies and one elderly man in the corner and the three band geeks (Tarah, Lucille, and Art) that she had heard talking about the Ducks and the crush that one of them had on Goldberg. "Luis?"

"Yes?"

"Your not still dating Mindy are you?"

"Hell no."

"Good, so you would mind if I said 'the slutty bitch from the underworld approaches'?" Dani nodded towards the door, and there was Mindy and her cheerleader and dance team posse.

"Damn it." Luis sighed.

Mindy caught sight of them and walked over with a snide smile on her face, "Oh look, it's the Quackers."

"Oh my god, guys." A voice said from behind the girls in cheer and dance outfits, "Mindy you look so great in the outfit." Tarah and her friends had walked over, "I could never work cheerleading attire."

Dani decided to play a game once she noticed that Tarah had an orange ice cream as well and she hoped that Tarah would catch on, "I agree." Dean raised his eyebrows, "What? Red. Warrior colors work on her." Dani said, "I bet it works with any color."

Tarah smiled, "Yeah, like green."

"Or blue."

"Purple."

"Orange." Dani continued.

Mindy cringed, "Ew, stop there." She sighed, "Orange is a horrible color to begin with, but together with red? That's just... EW!"

Dani and Tarah looked at each other, "Really?" Tarah asked. Mindy nodded and Dani and Tarah smiled and thrust their ice creams on her and mushed them around her stomach and chest.

"Looks good to me." Dani said as she turned to laughing Ducks, "I hate to leave so soon, but I just remembered that I have to meet Mathieu for a shopping trip."

"Why?" Dean asked.

"He's looking for a present for his and Trina's anniversary."

Dean nodded, "Trina is the girlfriend from New York I would presume?" Dani nodded, "Cool, I'll see you later."

Tammy stood, "I'm going with. Mathieu said that Trina had red hair and liked things to go with it. Knowing you two, whatever you pick would totally clash. I am your model, use me."

"Isn't that _his _job?" Dani asked in Fulton's direction, making him turn red. Tammy walked passed Dani and smacked her on the shoulder, "Ow." She protested as the duo walked away.

Dean sighed, "Ah, firecrackers. You gotta love them." Fulton felt the red leave his cheeks and nodded in agreement. Neither of them noticed the agreeing look in Adam's eyes as he watched Dani walk away.


	39. Recipe for Unpleasantness

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**PrincessH-** Ah Tammy and Fulton, what could be so right and so wrong at the same time? You gotta love them. Adam pining is cute, you can't hate him even if you want to. Thanks for the review. I hope that I'm not throwing anyone off, because you're my only reviewer... Sad, but I think I can get over the heartbreak.

(---------)

"Thanks for the ride, Forrest." Bethany Reed said to her co-worker, Forrest Kowalski, after getting off of work early, "I have no idea what is taking so long with my car." She smiled at the tall, brown haired, blue eyed doctor that she had long since become friends with.

"Not a problem." Forrest replied, "I've had my fair share of mechanic problems." Bethany nodded, "You can make it up to me by going out with me on Saturday." Bethany stopped dead, her hand reached out to open the car door. She turned back to the doctor and was happy to see that he seemed shocked by what he had said as well, "I really just said that, didn't I?" He sat back in his seat and placed his hand on his forehead as Bethany nodded again, "Wow, am I an idiot or what?"

Bethany tried to think about what to say, "Forrest, I... Well..." She wasn't quite sure what she thought about his offer, he was a nice guy and a great doctor, but she always had a fear of dating friends, "What I mean is... Oh, I am no good at this." Forrest chuckled nervously, "I should go. I'll see you tomorrow." He waved as she walked towards her apartment, looking back for a second and smiling.

Sighing heavily, Forrest banged his head on his headrest, "Stupid, stupid, stupid. Damn it!" He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number of the only person he could think of to talk to, "Come on, come on. If you love me you will pick up."

"Hello." A deep, male voice said on the other end of the line.

Forrest sighed happily, "Fruitcake, how are you doing?"

"Screw you, I'm hanging up."

"Okay, okay!" Forrest said, "I'm sorry, Perry. You're not a fruitcake."

"Actually I am, but you're not allowed to call me that." Perry replied.

Forrest shrugged, "Whatever, I need your advice." Forrest could tell that Perry had perked up when he heard that his advice was needed.

"All you ever need advice about is your abysmal love life... Or should I say your lack of love life." Forrest sighed as Perry continued, "Look, little brother, women all work in different ways. Just find the way to make yours work in your favor. For instance, have you done anything nice for said woman lately?"

"I just gave her a ride home because her car was in the shop." Forrest admitted.

"That's it?" Perry asked in disappointment.

"Don't give me that." Forrest said, "You live in nice, hot New Mexico. If you have forgotten what snow looks like, it's white and cold and it tends to fall a lot here in Minnesota. Look, I need to get back to work, I see you for the Family Reunion."

"Don't be a stranger." Perry replied, "Call, write, send e-mails." Forrest laughed, "Tootles."

"Bye." He said as he closed his phone. "Oh, fruitcake." With a final look at Bethany's apartment, he drove off.

Inside her apartment, Bethany was off in her own world. Forrest was an attractive, sweet, fairly muscular guy, what was his interest in her? Surely he had women chomping at the bit to be with him, so there was no need for him to get involved with her. Plus, dating friends and co-workers was a big no-no in her book, if they didn't work out something went down the tube. "He isn't your type." A familiar voice said, making Bethany jump and turn around. Standing in front of her was a thin and weedy looking man with graying brown hair, "Hi Beth. How ya been?"

"Dorian?" Bethany gasped, backing towards the door in fear, "What... How..."

Dorian smiled, "Can you guess what today is Beth? It's December 2nd. The day that you stabbed me in the back!" He screamed as he knocked all of her china off of it's shelf, causing Bethany to recoil in fear. "Now, it's funny that the day you took everything from me is the same day that that little Restraining order expires... Ain't life just a kick? I mean, you stole my son and turned my daughters against me all on the day that you got me sent to jail."

"I didn't do anything other then keep all of them safe." Bethany said as she backed away with tears in her eyes. "Robyn would have wanted to know that her daughters were safe."

"Now isn't that just like you, you lie and don't get your way and here come the water works; plus you bring up that bitch. That isn't going to work on me Beth, it never has." He kicked the glass out of her coffee table and threw it across the room, "You know, if your stuck in prison with nothing to do, working out helps sort out your issues."

"Dorian, I..." Bethany stopped as Dorian grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the kitchen.

"No time for pleas now, Beth." Dorian said as he put his hand around her throat and slammed her into the refrigerator, "You know, I have always heard the saying 'Like Father, Like Son'. Is that true, Beth?"

Bethany sighed angrily, "Fulton will _never _be like you." She said, causing Dorian to slam her into the metal refrigerator door again.

"You sure?" Dorian taunted, "I'm not so sure." He slapped her across the face and kneed her in the stomach, "You see, if you're dead and I can discredit everything you said about me to take my son away, which I can, I think that I can mold him, even at this age. I hear that he's got a killer slap shot, I can work with that."

"I won't let that happen, even if you try and kill me." Bethany said defiantly. She paid for it when he slammed his fist into her ribs. It had been a long time, but Bethany had never forgotten the feeling of her ribs breaking.

"What was that, Beth?"

"I said that I will never let you get to Fulton. He will never become you, no matter how hard you try." Bethany didn't even flinch as she felt his fist make contact with her nose, nor did she do anything as she heard the crunch it made; he wouldn't get the mental advantage.

"Beth, do you remember where we met?" Dorian asked, trying to lower her more then he had, "You always liked this part. The pain that you enjoyed."

"_You _got off on that stuff, Psycho!" Bethany snapped, "Not me." Dorian shrugged and threw Bethany so that she hit her head on the metal sink enough to hurt her, but not enough to knock her out.

"Bye, Beth." Dorian said as he pulled a large butcher knife out of the knife block, "Love stinks." He added as he plunged the knife into her stomach and chest more times then he cared to count. Throwing the knife aside, Dorian clenched his hand into a tight fist and punched Bethany hard and repetitively in the face before leaning over her one last time, "That was overkill, I know. But I can't wait for them to see the beautiful Beth Kenelm now." He looked up quickly to the sounds of police sirens, "Shit, they always ruin the fun."

(------)

The entire Chemistry class sighed in relief as a Senior Office Aid knocked on the door and stopped substitute teachers on going lecture about The Periodic Table. "I was beginning to think that nothing would shut her up." Fulton whispered to himself. There were people in this class that he wouldn't have minded to talk to once and a while, but everyone else was on the other side of the room. Damn the alphabet and its order.

"Fulton Reed." The substitute said, causing Fulton to look up quickly, "The Dean would like to speak to you in his office." Fulton shrugged and stood up, taking his books with him, knowing that the last bell of the day would ring in about 10 minutes and he wouldn't need to come back. Despite what most people thought, Fulton had rarely ever been to the Dean's office and if he did go, it was never for any trouble that he caused, most of that he hadn't been caught for.

Fulton managed to get himself to Dean Buckley's office in a timely manner, even though he had been in one of the class rooms farthest from his destination. "Hello, Mr. Reed." The 20-something secretary, Ms. Lowell, said as he entered, "You can just go right in." Fulton nodded in surprise, mostly it would take a good 10 or 15 minutes of waiting before you could go in.

Fulton walked in and was shocked, yet again, to see two police detectives and two officers in standing on either side of the room, drinking coffee and looking very gloomy, "Mr. Reed, lovely to see you again." Dean Buckley said in a cheery voice, "What's wrong?"

"Well, I'm not aware of doing anything illegal, so I'm kind of surprised to see cops." Fulton said, "But other then that, nope, I'm fine."

"Oh, you didn't do anything. You see..." One of the detectives cleared her throat, "Oh, right. I suppose that they should tell you. I'll just wait outside."

"Somebody tell me." Fulton said uncomfortably.

The detective that had cleared her throat walked over to the seat in front of Fulton and sat. She pulled out a tape recorder, "Do you mind." Fulton shook his head, "Mr. Reed... Fulton, I'm Detective Sallee. My I ask when was the last time you saw your mother?"

Fulton raised his eyebrows, "My mother? Um, Sunday night, before I came back here. Why do you ask?"

"Sunday night. So it's been about two days."

"Yeah, I guess." Fulton said, getting more irritated by the minute, "Is there a reason that you're asking me?"

The detective looked to the male detective, "About three hours ago, you mother was brought to the ER of Regions Hospital with multiple stab wounds and facial injuries." Fulton just sat deathly still, trying to comprehend what this women was saying, "You neighbor, Mrs. Brown, called the police after she heard a commotion coming from yours and your mother's apartment."

"Is my mom okay?" Fulton asked petrified.

Detective Sallee sighed, "She's very, very lucky. The doctor's said that she _is_ stable, but she has yet to wake up. Would you like us to take you to see her?"

Fulton shook his head, "No, I can manage. But I have to ask about the stab wounds." Fulton knew that he looked strange just staring out into space and asking these questions, but he really didn't care.

Detective Sallee shook the confusion of his request off of her face, "Ask away."

"They're in a square, right?"

"How did you know that?"

Fulton sighed, "Because I know exactly who did it." He looked up, out of his daze, "The lunatic that likes to call himself my father."

"How do you know?"

"It isn't the first time he's done that. Not to my mom, but to other people when he got drunk. Plus, he has squares tattooed all over him. They're his 'thing'." Fulton stared at her and she knew that he wasn't lying, "I really have nothing more to say, can I go?"

"Of course." Detective Sallee said as she clicked off the tape recorder. She sat in stunned silence as Fulton picked up his bag and books and left.

The male detective walked up to his partner and placed his hand on her shoulder, "You okay, Justine?"

"God, that kids life sucks more then mine did."

(------)

Fulton didn't bother to make his way to the ice rink to tell his coach that he would miss practice that day, he knew that he needed to get to his mother. He pushed people out of the way, only stopping to quickly open his locker so that he wouldn't be weighed down by his books. Luckily he didn't have any homework, nor did he run into any of his teammates; Fulton knew that they would ask questions and he couldn't handle that.

Running as fast as possible, Fulton cursed himself when he ran into someone and cursed himself even more when he saw that it was Dani, "Fulton, you okay?" She asked as she stood up and pulled a bag back over her shoulder.

"Yeah, fine." He lied, "I gotta go."

He tried to run again, but Dani stopped him, "Go? Where? You have practice in 15 minutes." Fulton tried to rapidly think up another lie, "Fulton, I can tell that your lying. You're not okay, what's wrong?" Fulton said nothing, "Look, as one of your girlfriend's good friends and your best friend's sister, I want to help, talk to me."

"You want to help?" Fulton asked.

"Yes, you seem surprised."

"Help me by telling everyone that I'm not going to make it to practice today."

Dani raised her eyebrow, "Fulton, this is just a guess, but did something happen to your mother." Fulton's eyes widened as he thought _'Damn how does she do that?' _"It's a gift, but if that's the case, then you better go."

"Thank you, Dani." Fulton said, "You're a gem."

"I know." Dani replied, "But you had better go. Do you want me to tell them, or should I just say that you're not going to be there?"

"Just that I won't be there."

"Got it." Dani watched Fulton run off and couldn't help but notice that he was really fast, then she remembered the Dean had said that Fulton had played football before switching to hockey. "Okay... tell the team." She mumbled to herself before running off towards the ice rink.

She wrenched open the door of the rink and ran passed the abandoned concession stand, towards the ice. As she entered, Dani saw all of the Ducks and their coach on the ice. Tammy and Gia were standing just off of the ice and Dani distinctly heard Dean reply 'I don't know' when his coach questioned him about Fulton.

"I can answer that." Dani called as she raced down the stairs, "Well, partly anyway." She stopped next to Gia and Tammy before speaking again, "I ran into Fulton a few minutes ago and he asked me to tell you that he won't be able to make it."

"Why the hell not?" Orion asked as Tammy gave her a what's-going-on-that-I-don't-know look.

Dani felt her gazed involuntarily drop, "He didn't tell me."

"Liar." Dean said noticing her low gaze, "What happened? He wouldn't miss for nothing." He saw Dani struggle to keep her mouth to herself and she was doing a good job at it, "Open up, blabbermouth." Dean smiled as he saw panic in Dani's eyes, knowing that it meant that she was going to talk. His smiled drooped, however, when Dani reached into her bag and pulled out two chocolate-covered mini éclairs and stuffed them into her mouth. She quickly mumbled what happened, not that anyone could understand her, and quickly retreated back to where she had come from. "I hate it when she does that." Dean sighed as Tammy followed Dani out of the rink.

"So were not going to find out?"

Dean looked over to his coach, "Nope, she's not spilling. Too determined."

"I'm going to kill him." Dean heard Charlie whisper, knowing that Fulton's not being there was going to mean a lot of hell for everyone else.

"Stand in line." Dean said as he skated over to the captain.

(-------)

Fulton stood quietly over his mother's lifeless looking body, not able to say anything or move, no matter how much he wanted to. Her face was splotched with massive amounts of purple and blue and her lips and eyes were swollen to twice their normal size. Fulton had been staring into space so long that he hadn't heard someone walking up behind him, so he jumped when fingers laced with his. Turning his head quickly, Fulton was relieved to see Tammy standing next to him, but he was also a little confused as to _how _she had found him. "Hey." She said.

"Hi." Fulton said, "How did you know that I was here?"

Tammy smiled, "I forced Dani to tell me. Don't worry, nobody else knows that your here." Fulton stiffened a little, "She didn't tell me what happened, just where you were."

"I guess that's okay."

"She didn't tell Dean when he tried to make her spill." Fulton smiled. He knew that Dean could always make people talk if he wanted them to, "Well, actually she told him, but she stuffed a couple of mini éclairs into her mouth before hand so that he, nor anyone else could understand what she was saying."

"That's Dani for you." Fulton said, "She's a regular Houdini when she wants to be." Tammy furrowed her eyebrows, "She can get out of anything... Well, except for the whole someone-having-a-crush-on-Goldberg thing, Dean made her spill that."

"He does tend to do that." Tammy said, "What's wrong? I mean, other then the obvious."

Fulton sighed, "Remember when I told you that my dad was a nut case?" Tammy nodded, "He's the one that did this."

"How do you know?" Tammy asked.

"Because today is the day that the Restraining order that my mother filed against him expired." Fulton said, "You know, when we left him, I would always have nightmares that he would find us and hurt us again." He managed a shuttering sigh as he continued, "I still have them, but now they've changed and I'm the one doing the hurting."

"Fulton, you wouldn't do that." Tammy said, "Your the nicest person that I know."

"How can you be so sure?" Fulton asked, looking at her for the first time, "They say 'like father, like son', how do you know that won't turn into him?"

"Fulton." Tammy said as he looked back down, "Would you ever hurt me? Or anyone if you have the choice?" She pulled his face back up so that he was looking at her, "Would you?"

"No." Fulton replied.

"Then you're not him." She finished, "And you never will be."

Fulton flipped his wallet around in his hands nervously, "Did I ever tell you that I have two half sisters?" Tammy shook her head, "I do." He pulled a picture out of his wallet and handed it to her, "That's them about two months ago."

"Twins?" Tammy asked.

"Yeah, they're 20." Tammy nodded and looked over the photograph. Both of the girls had golden blonde hair and sparkling blue-green eyes; they shared beautiful high cheek bones and matching half smiles that could make any man drool, but that was all that was the same about them. In this picture they were sitting on a metal bench and the one that was sitting on the left had a sporty, tomboyish look about her, her hair cut short and all over the place and she wore a tank top and sweat pants. She was lean and muscular and looked like she could snap a man in two (but the man wouldn't care) and she had a football in hand. The other was quite different; she had long hair placed up in a ponytail and she had a sexy librarian vibe to her with her suit jacket, knee length skirt, square glasses, and skinny frame. In fact, she had a book on her lap to round out the librarian look.

"They look so similar, yet so different." Tammy said, "I mean, one is tomboy-sport women and the other is a... Sexy librarian or something."

"Well that's nice to know." Fulton said, not wanting to hear something like that, "But your kinda right, they like to be their own people, despite being twins."

"Dean and Dani in two blonde women." Tammy said making Fulton laugh, "That's a really scary thought... Anyway, what are their names?"

"D.J. and T.J." Fulton said, "Dream Sky Jeffreys and Thorn Sahara Jeffreys." Tammy tried to hold back a laugh, but didn't entirely succeed, "I know, they hate it to, that's why the just go by T.J. and D.J."

"I see." Tammy replied, "But I have another question, were their parents hippies or something?"

"No, but as I mentioned before, my father is a nut." Tammy nodded.

"That you did. So, which one is which?"

"D.J. is the one with the football and T.J. is the one with the book." Fulton said, "Their mother, Robyn Jeffreys, was a good friend of my mothers. She died when I was a year old and mom took them in until everything could be worked out for their grandparents to take them in."

"So your mother was a friend of their mother, and they each had kids from the same lunatic?" Tammy asked.

Fulton nodded, "Robyn left my dad right after he and my mom met. He needed comforting and she gave it to him and I was the end result of that." Tammy nodded understandingly, "My mom's parents are devout Catholics and made them get married when they found out, but that was after T.J. and D.J. went to live with their grandparents."

"Oh." Tammy said, "You learn something new everyday."

"Yeah." Fulton said, "He was mad at mom for not giving her support to him during the custody trial, so that is when he officially snapped."

"And he started hitting you and your mother."

"Yup."

"I'm here for you if you need me, you know that, right?" Tammy asked. Fulton nodded and gave her a quick kiss, "Good, because I will not have you moping and missing tons of hockey practice."

"Which reminds me, Coach, Charlie, Dean, and pretty much everyone else will want to kill me when I see them next." Fulton sighed.

"Not if you tell them the truth."

"When would I do that?"

"Whenever you want."

(-------)

Fulton laid on his bed in his dorm room, knowing that Dean would be back soon to give him hell. But in all reality he found that no amount of pressure from anyone of his teammates, or anyone else for that matter, could make him care, his mother needed him more then anyone and the only reason he was where he was was because sleep was a necessity and he wasn't going to get it in the hospital. Fulton only minimally comprehended the sound of a door opening and closing, but he was brought back to reality when Dean's angry voice broke into his reality, "DUDE! Where the hell were you? Orion had us doing laps and suicides for hours?"

"I was a little too preoccupied." Fulton said monotonously as he sat up and turned to his best friend, "I'm sorry, but I had something a little more important to deal with."

Dean threw his bag onto the floor, "Oh yeah? What?"

Fulton stumbled over whether or not to tell Dean, but decided it would be best, "My mom got attacked... She's in the hospital."

"What?" Dean asked dumbfounded.

"Yeah." Fulton added, "She was hurt really bad and has yet to wake up." Dean dropped to his bed, his eyes still on Fulton, "But I already know what happened; my raving father did it, I can tell."

"Man, I'm really sorry."

"Don't be, you didn't know."

Dean looked around the dorm room nervously, Fulton was being honest with him so why couldn't he give the same? "Dude, do you remember a couple of months ago when Dani talked to me and I didn't join in the festivities after the Blake game?"

"Yeah." Fulton said.

Dean gulped, "Dani told me that our dad got shot at work and that he was in pretty bad condition. We still don't know anything."

"Oh my god." Fulton replied, "Isn't he a teacher?"

"Yeah." Dean said sadly.

"Now I get why Leah and Keoni came down that week. And Jeannette." Dean nodded, "So you still know nothing?"

"Nope."

Fulton thought for a moment and then something else popped into his head, "One final question." Dean nodded for him to continue, "Why the hell did Julie know before me?" Dean's answer got caught in his throat, "Oh, I see."

"You see what?"

Fulton shrugged and laid back down, "You have a thing for Julie."

"I WHAT?" Dean protested, hoping that his attempt would not be in vain.

"Dude, do not try to deny it."

Dean scoffed, "I don't have a thing for Julie... She's Julie."

"Denial." Fulton said in a singsong voice that didn't really suit him all that well.

"I'm not in denial."

"Denying denial." Fulton replied, laughing as he looked over and saw Dean flipping him off.


	40. Everyone Welcome

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(------)

**PrincessH-** In awe? Seriously? When I write any abuse scenes, I can tend to get a little bit deep into it. Hopefully the awe is because it was good and it didn't disgust you. As for patenting something, if you must then you must. I'm glad that you liked all of the Tammy/Fulton-ness.

**mickEmousina-** Poor Fulton is right, his dad is a psycho, how could you not want to punch the guy? Every once and a while Fulton needs to make fun of Dean, it brings the latter down a few notches and gives smilies and bubbly feelings.

**Lilmonkey1507-** Julie and Portman are a great couple, their so different yet so similar. I know what you mean about the abuse happening all the time, the same thing happened with a couple of people I know, it really is a sad situation, but no one really knows what it's like unless they live it. I'm glad that you think that it's getting better, I do try to do that.

(-------)

Once again, Greg Goldberg was stuck alone, doing homework... it was boring to say the least. Everyone else had something to do to put it off or were finished, but did he? Nope. Deciding he needed air, Goldberg quietly and quickly excused himself from said homework and raced out the door.

As he turned the corner, he was pleasantly surprised to see no one around. This would give him a chance to think about thing. Around people, he was loud and would make joking comments or attempt to keep himself from becoming the butt of a joke. He walked along, not really thinking anything; that was until he realized that he had "Walk Like An Egyptian" stuck in his head. "Grr." He groaned.

"Well, I'd say that you make a rather convincing tiger." A voice said behind him, causing him to jump, "Hi, Greg."

"Tarah, hey." He replied once he knew who he was talking to, "How you doing?"

He turned towards her as she nodded, "Good. But can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot."

Tarah suddenly looked uncomfortable, "I was just wondering if you wanted to... Well, what I was wondering was... Oy, I suck at this." She took a deep breath and tried again, "I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me on Sunday night? I'll pay."

Goldberg smiled slightly, "Really?" Tarah nodded shyly, "I'd love to, but I can eat a lot, so I'll not take you up on the paying for."

Tarah laughed, "Trust me, I've never met a girl that could eat more then me."

"Really?" Tarah nodded, "But you're so tiny."

Tarah shook her head, "Nope, I'm normal for my height category. I'll make you a deal, I pay for your half and you pay for mine and then we can compare."

"Works for me."

"I'll see you at 1:30 on Saturday then."

"Cool."

"Bye." She said, blushing slightly.

"I'll see you then."

(-------)

Dani stood just inside the door of the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Minneapolis waiting for a certain guest that she wanted to see. She was wearing a worn trench coat that had once been her Aunt Mickie's, sunglasses, and she had her iPod with her so to an unknowing person, it may seem like she was up to no good, but this was far from it; what Dani wanted was an understanding. Now all she had to do was wait, but she wasn't sure for how... Oh, there he was.

The man, only about 18 or 19, was wearing sunglasses and a hat, but she knew that it was him. He walked over to the elevator and stepped in, not knowing that Dani was following him, and pressed the button to the top floor. Nothing really happened as they rode the elevator, Dani leaned against the metal back wall while the man twitched around a a lot. _'He must be claustrophobic.'_ Dani thought, _'Now that I think about it, he didn't look to happy about getting on a elevator, but 17 floors is a lot to go up.'_ Once the elevator bell dinged, signaling the floor, the man rushed out of the elevator at top speed and Dani stepped out just into to see the room he rushed into.

Pterodactyls flew around her her stomach as she pulled her earphones out of her ears and raised her hand to the door and knocked. Breathing in deeply, she heard the lock click and the door opened to reveal a somewhat short, but very pretty, girl with stick straight blonde hair and icy blue eyes, "Yes?" She asked.

"Gala, right?" Dani asked.

"Yes."

Dani stuck out her hand, "I'm Dani. Well, Danielle. Danielle Portman." Gala's limpid blue eye widened and Dani pulled her hand back down, "I know that's it's really weird that I'm here, but I just wanted to talk to you." Gala nodded, still a little scared, "You obviously know about all of the media coverage of the 'rivalry' or what ever it is between us, and I just wanted to say that ridiculous stuff like that can get blown out of proportion. I have no problem with you and I'm sorry about all of the idiot stuff that people are saying."

Gala nodded, "Thank you. My father said that everyone was saying that because you and everyone here thought that you were better then me and we needed to shut you all up."

"Did he now? That isn't the case, trust me. It's just idiot people who are trying to start feuds." Gala nodded, " And if that's really what your father thought, then why are you here two months early?"

Gala swallowed, "He thought that I should get a feel for the American Ice."

"Two months early?" Dani asked incredulously. Gala nodded, "And what, exactly, did he have planned for you to do when you aren't practicing?"

"Nothing really."

"Well that must get boring."

"Gala?" Gunnar asked from the bathroom. He asked her a question in Icelandic, so Dani had no idea what he was saying, but it seem to irritate Gala as she replied, in Icelandic as well, with an exasperated expression on her face.

She sighed, "Brothers... They are so annoying."

"I have four." Dani replied, causing Gala's eyes to widen once again and her jaw to drop, "So I know your pain."

"Four?"

Dani nodded, "One older, one twin, and two younger. At least all you have is an older brother, and he's what? 18?"

"19." Gala corrected, "He's two years older the me."

"Gala!" Gunnar's voice said harshly as he moved across the penthouse suite, "Who is at the d... oh, hello."

Gala rolled her eyes, "Gunnar, this is Danielle Portman." Gunnar raised an eyebrow in question and Gala nodded exasperatedly.

"But, if you don't mind, I prefer to be called 'Dani'. Not only does it take less time, it can confuse people at times and I like doing that."

"Why?" Gala asked.

"I don't know really, I just do." She shrugged, "If you two ever get bored of sitting around 7/8 of the time, I won't be far." She pulled out a tiny strip of paper for her back pocket, "Call me, we wouldn't want you to hate your experience here."

Gala smiled, but Gunnar looked skeptical, "Why are you being so nice?" He asked, "You didn't act this way in all of your news programs."

Dani choked back a rude retort in favor of something that would keep her from causing what she wanted to prevent, "That wasn't me, that was the reporters trying to cause confrontation. We're both looking towards the same goal as each other and hundreds of other people on the planet, so why should be just be worried about each other? I just want an understanding so that we don't hate each other because some reporters want a good story."

"Yes, Gunnar." Gala said, "No need to be rude."

"I'll see you two around. Try not to get too bored."

(------)

Glad to be back to her building and even more glad to not find a special present from a certain someone, Dani pulled off her jacket and pulled out a bowl and a package of instant chicken soup. As she placed the soup mix package in the bowl and placed a pot of water on the stove, she thought. Gunnar didn't seem to think that she really wanted to make peace, but he had a reason. Plus, if he had figured out that she was the sister of a USA Jr. Goodwill Games player then any attempt would be futile no matter what.

The water on the stove bubbled and Dani poured the mix into it as she sighed in exasperation. God the media could get annoying sometimes! Dani placed her head in her hands but looked up the minute she heard snow crunching under someone's shoes outside.

Dani slowly inched towards the door as a knock came. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to open it or not, "Dan? You there?" Dani heaved a sigh of relief as she pulled open the door. Standing there was a tall and somewhat scrawny man with sandy hair and hazel eyes; all of his appearance, which was mostly from his mother, melded together to make a rather attractive young man.

"Ash?" Dani asked as she hugged her cousin, "What are you doing here? I thought you had to go visit Brooke's family in Kansas." She herded him in and closed the door.

Ash nodded, "Yeah, mom did want me to, but I wanted to come see you first. I figured it would be on the way, even if I did have to go a little north. Besides, I'm not getting to Wichita for another week."

"What about Silver?"

"She couldn't come." Ash said sadly, "Her mom and dad don't really like me and she had school so I wasn't going to give them another reason to be pissed at me."

"Why don't they like you?"

"I don't know."

"Lair." Dani said, noticing how quickly Ash had responded, "What's wrong?"

"Silver's parents had hope that she would get together with this guy that's a friend of theirs son." Ash replied, spilling because he knew that Dani had him in a corner, "He's old money, pretty big old money. They thought that I wasn't good enough because I didn't have all of the cars, real estate, and lavish jewels. I'm too blue collar apparently."

Dani laughed sourly, "I know a few people like that here, luckily I'm around the nice kind. All of the Ducks are pretty awesome." Ash nodded, "I'd tell you where you could find Dean if you had come on a week day, but I'm not sure where he is."

"That's okay, how about we just cruise around." He replied, "I have a week to see Dean and I haven't spent any time with you since I left for collage."

"Before your Freshmen year." Dani replied bitterly.

"Oh, come on _cugino piccolo_." **(Italian: little cousin)**, "I know that I've been really preoccupied, but I do have things to do."

Dani sighed, "Yeah, I know."

"So, what should we do?" Ash asked.

"I don't know."

"Then lets just ride around and see where the wind takes us."

"As long as we get back in time so that my coach doesn't kill me, I'll be happy." Ash smiled and nodded, pulling the door open, "I didn't know that I had my own butler."

"Whatever, lets go."


	41. Jealousy Is A Fickle Fiend

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**PrincessH-** Well, Tarah isn't exactly Goldberg's girlfriend just yet... We'll just have to see where this takes him. But your right, it is cute nonetheless. I don't know why, but I have kind of a knack for writing psychos and lunatics and depressing thing... But I've never really thought that much about it to be honest. It's good that you don't really mean to get a patent and that like that people like your ideas enough to use them.

**Bad Best Friend-** I agree with you about Dani's personality. Actually, that was the reaction to Dani that I wanted, I like to write complex people. I must admit that I am not a fan of people that judge people before getting to know them, I know a lot of people like that and I can't stand them. As for Greg and Tarah, don't worry about it, they will not be forgotten.

Thank you Lilmonkey1507!

(---------)

All of the Ducks, minus Adam, as he had to have dinner with his parents at one of his father's business meetings, had found themselves gathered in Dean and Fulton's dorm room. Piper and Scooter was there as well and Dean couldn't help but notice that, while Scooter and Julie were sitting next to each other, they seemed to be farther apart then usual. Not only that, but Piper was sending ominous death glares Scooter's way. Terry and Jesse had come over, not wanting to lose out on any Duck business, and Tammy had also joined and found a rather comfortable spot on Fulton's lap.

Max sighed and rubbed his hands over his eyes, "So, what is the get together for next weekend. My dad is having an old Academy friend over for the day and if I stay I will explode."

Julie smiled, "Well, we wouldn't want that."

"No, not really." Max replied, shaking his head.

"How about, on Saturday, we meet up at the old pond and go from there." Charlie suggested, "If you guys don't mind waiting for about 15 minutes, I want to go with my mom to her doctors appointment." Everyone nodded in agreement about where to meet and about waiting, everyone except Goldberg.

"I can't go anywhere early on Saturday." He replied, "I'll just meet up with you guys around 3:00 or 3:30."

Everyone looked around confused, "Um... Goldie? Why?" Jesse asked.

"I have a date." Goldberg said, nonchalantly.

"You have... A what?" Dean asked.

"A. Date. On. Saturday. For. Lunch." Goldberg replied, "It's a simple concept."

"With who?" Dwayne asked.

"A girl." Goldberg said, not really wanting to get in on the subject.

"Could you be any less specific?" Fulton asked sarcastically.

Goldberg looked around uncomfortably, but figured that he didn't have a way out of the conversation, "Tarah... Tarah Oldman, if you must know."

"Tarah Oldman?" Luis asked, "Tarah from my Creative Writing class, that Tarah?" Goldberg nodded, "I never thought I'd see the day that you asked a girl out for lunch... Or anything for that matter."

Goldberg cleared his throat, "Actually, she asked me."

Everyone stared at him in stunned silence until a voice from the other side of the door snapped them back to reality, "Did you trip and fall into a puddle of stupid? I mean, did an idiot beat you until you joined his kind or something?" Dani opened the door, her back facing the room, "Ew." She shuttered and turned around, plopping next to Dean on his bed.

A person she was speaking to leaned against the door frame, "How is me dating my girlfriend worthy of the 'puddle-of-stupid' line?" The tall and slightly scrawny figure asked.

Dean gave Dani a questioning look that asked her the same question, as he brought his water bottle to his lips, and she rolled her eyes, "Ash, your dating the daughter of Joan and Jack Fischer." Dean promptly spewed all of the water in his mouth over the empty part of his bed. Dani shook her head, but continued, "If you forget, they are one of the most hated couples in Chicago."

Ash shook his head and entered the room, closing the door behind him, "Look, _terrore gemellati_, Silver is not anything like her parents. She's not their biggest fan, probably less of a fan then anyone." **(Italian: twin terrors.)**.

"We find that hard to believe." Dean said.

"_Realmente?_" **(Italian: Really?). **Dani and Dean nodded. Ash smiled and pulled out his wallet and searched it. Once he found what he was looking for, he pulled whatever it was out and placed the wallet back in his pocket and threw what he pulled out over to his twin cousins.

Dani picked it up and saw that it was a picture. Dean looked over her shoulder, "Damn." He whispered. Dani rolled her eyes, this must be Silver. She was very pretty to say the least. Her heart shaped face was set off by her eyes, which were deep blue, and her hair, which was midnight black. Silver's semi-thin lips were pale and the bottom one had a ring surrounding it. Her shapely ears had three studs each and a ring in the cartilage of her left.

"Silver?" Dani asked.

Ash nodded in a semi-angry way, "She was adopted when she was 12. Plus, she's told me that she hates they way her parents treat people, particularly the less privileged of city. I thought you two hated people who judge before meeting."

Dani sighed, "He's got us there." She whispered, "By the way, everyone this is our cousin, Ash. Ash, this is everyone. Dean can finish the introductions, I have to leave." She stood and turned to Tammy, "Tams, can I raid your closet? I never thought that I'd have to say this, but I need a dress." Dean and Ash raised their eyebrows unbelievingly, "What? I have a dinner planned."

Tammy shook her head to relieve herself of her shock, "Sure."

"Thank you." Dani replied hurriedly as she ran out the door.

Ash sighed, "A guy. I know it."

Tammy stood, walked over to Dean, and slapped his as hard as possible on the arm. Dean couldn't make a noise, but looked up at Tammy with a shocked and pained expression on his face, "I blame you." Tammy said deathly calm, "It's your fault that Adam broke it off with her. They were awesome together." She sighed in a huff and flopped back on Fulton's bed with her arms crossed across her chest.

"Dani was dating Cake-eater?" Terry asked, "How did we not know this?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Dean said as he laid back on his bed.

Ash laughed, "I never thought I see the day that Sir Portman let his sister alone with another Knight."

"You and your damned Medieval obsession."

(-------)

Dani breathed deeply as she walked carefully into Radisson Plaza Hotel. Gunnar and Gala had called two days after their impromptu meeting in the top floor hallway and invited her to dinner in the Hotel restaurant. She knew that the Hotel was fancy, so she figured that she had better ask Tammy for a dress so that she could look the part. Luckily for her, Tammy's mother often sent dresses for her daughter, even though she didn't know Tammy's dress size, choosing to guess.

Even more lucky was that Dani found one that fit her and didn't look half bad. Fortunately for her it was not ridiculously pink and frilly, like most of the things that Mrs. Duncan sent Tammy, but a form-fitting red outfit made of silk. The dress was a v-neck that wrapped around her, giving the illusion that her chest was bigger then normal. Silky fabric reached to her knees and swayed like a bell as she walked... more like teetered, on two inch stiletto heels. She wouldn't have worn the heels, but she couldn't find anything else that went with the dress. Her hair had been a big issue, so she had decided to just wet it and let it dry and curl.

A hand rested on Dani's shoulder, causing her to jump, "Oh, sorry." An accent voice said.

"Gunnar." Dani replied in a relieved tone, "It's you." She added as she turned. Gunnar nodded and Dani couldn't help but notice that he looked pretty good in a pinstriped pants and a white button up.

"Gala said to wait for her in the restaurant." Gunnar replied, "She has a hard time getting ready for anything that doesn't involve a skating dress."

Dani smiled, "I know the feeling." Gunnar smiled in return, "So, should we go and get out table."

"Yes." He held out his hand towards the restaurant and Dani couldn't help but notice that he was very much a gentlemen. As they reached the door, Gunnar spoke to the usher, who nodded and told them to follow. Gunnar shifted as he walked next to Dani, "I want to apologize for my behavior a few days ago."

Dani shook her head, "There's no need. You had a right to worry about your sister. I know that my brothers would have... WOAH!" She called as her shoes slipped out from under her and she fell backwards. Quick as a whip, Gunnar stooped down and caught her before she landed on the floor, "Wow." Dani said, "Has anyone ever told you that you have great reflexes?"

"Are you okay?" Gunnar asked in a genuinely concerned voice.

"Yeah, thanks." Dani replied, "Heels and I have never really mixed." She smiled as Gunnar flawlessly helped her back to her feet so that she actually had to turn a little and her hair flipped around.

"Hi Dani." A voice said from the table that she had nearly landed in front of. Dani almost dropped her jaw as she saw Monica, Adam, Mr. and Mrs. Banks, and people who looked like business colleagues of Mr. Banks'.

"Hi." Dani replied, "Adam, you remember Gunnar, right?" She asked, although she had an edge to her voice that told Adam he had to be polite.

Adam forced a smile, "How could I forget?"

Gunnar moved shifted uncomfortably again, showing that he remembered Adam and what Olaf Sanderson had done to him, "Hello."

"Gunnar, why don't we go sit." Gunnar nodded thankfully and walked away, but Dani didn't move, "What was that?" She asked once Gunnar was out of earshot.

Adam chuckled sourly, "Dani, if you forgot, his sister is your biggest competition for the gold."

"That's why I'm trying to be nice." Dani spat back bitterly, "I understand friendly rivalry, but if it gets so out of control then it only leads to bad things happening." She sighed, "Besides, this isn't about Gala and you know it. It's about him. Just because you, the Ducks, and the Vikings got pulled into Wolf Stansson's warped world of winning doesn't mean that you can hold that against him now. It's not like it was his idea, he was just doing what he was told. People do tend to listen to their coaches in Hockey... Or have I been reading the rules wrong?"

Adam sighed, "Dani, that may be, but I don't recall Stansson telling that jerk to slam my wrist."

"And your holding Gunnar to that?" Dani asked disbelievingly, "He didn't do it!"

"That's not the point." Adam replied, "You're being completely irrational."

Dani stopped quickly, "And that is exactly what Wilson said when I broke up with him." Adam's face paled, he hadn't wanted to fight with her, much less remind her of Wilson, but they were talking about Gunnar Stahl. He thought that he had a very good point, "God." She whispered as she stalked off towards her table.

Adam threw his fork back on the table in a huff, "Jealousy is a fickle fiend." Monica taunted.

"I'll see you on Friday." He mumbled as he got out of his chair and left towards Eden Hall.

(-------)

Throwing open the door to his and Charlie's room, Adam pulled off the tie that he had been forced to wear and flopped onto bed. He banged his fists on the pillow and tried to keep in his tears. Dani hand the ability to make him blubber like a baby and he was fully convinced that she knew that she could and evilly used that power to the fullest extent.

"Welcome back, Banksie." Charlie said as he, Guy, Terry, and Jesse entered the room.

"Are you two allowed to be here?" Adam asked Jesse and Terry.

"Only if we're gone by curfew." Terry replied, "What happened to you?"

Adam shook his head, "Liar." Jesse replied, "Seriously man, what's wrong... But before you answer... How did we not know that you and Dani were dating?"

"I don't want to talk about either of those things." Adam replied.

"Okay." Guy said, "At least we know that what ever is the matter with him has to do with Dani, otherwise he wouldn't get so defensive."

"What happened, man?" Charlie asked, "You'll feel better if you talk about it."

Adam sat up and sighed, "Remember when I told you guys that some old business colleagues of my dads and his partners were coming into town and I had to go to the Radisson for dinner?" They all nodded, "Yeah, well, when I was there, Dani came in -God, she looked gorgeous- and she was having dinner with another guy."

"Dude, you broke up with her." Jesse said, "She's free game."

"That guy was Gunnar Stahl." Adam replied, getting more irritated by the minute. Charlie's jaw dropped, Jesse's eyes widened, Terry plopped onto Charlie's bed, and Guy had to lean against the wall.

"She went out on a date with Gunnar Stahl?" Guy asked.

"From what I can tell." Adam replied, "I figured that he came into town early with his sister, but I didn't see her anywhere." He sighed once again, "I'm such an idiot."

"You let the girl that you are in love with go..." Guy said, "That's pretty much the biggest form of idiocy that anyone can commit."

"Love?" Adam asked himself, "Oh, who am I kidding, I'd jump off the freaking Sears Tower to get her back."

"Maybe it wasn't a date." Jesse tried to reason, "Maybe she was just being nice. You know, trying to keep the news coverage out of the actual performances. Keep the hatred to a minimum."

"She did defend him pretty hard." Adam replied, "I have no idea what to do."

"Talking to her would be a start." Terry chimed in.

Adam chucked sourly, "She's pissed at me. She'll never want to see me again, much less talk to me."

"Give her a chance to cool down." Guy said, "If she's anything like Connie, she'll want to talk through what happened." Adam nodded sadly and laid his head back down on his pillow, "I'll see you guys tomorrow." Terry and Jesse followed and Charlie closed the door behind them.

"It'll be fine man, she still likes you... I can tell."


	42. Seeing You

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**Bad Best Friend-** Yes, Dani did put Adam in his place, she's just that kind of girl. As for the dialogue between Gala, Gunnar, and Dani, I imagined that to be slightly awkward at first and to start off slowly. In my head it didn't seem that interesting... Plus it was three in the morning and if I didn't get to bed, my grandmother was going to throttle me and I wanted to get that chapter up. I can see why you would want me to write that part and I'm sorry that I didn't for you, but it didn't seem to go with everything else.

Thank yous need to be extended to PrincessH and Tinkerbell821.

(-------)

Saturday. Saturday. _Saturday!_ It was the day that all of the Ducks had been waiting for. Not only did this day mean that they got off of school until January 4th, but all of them were excited for Goldberg's lunch date and they wouldn't get off of his back about wanted to know all of the details afterwards, it was as if they all transformed into 12 year old girls.

Currently everyone, except Goldberg, obviously, was sitting in the Mall of America food court and waiting for Piper, who was late due to having a prior engagement, to show up. "I can't believe that Goldberg _actually _has a date today." Luis said for the millionth time that week.

Julie and Connie simultaneously rolled their eyes, "God, you guys are worse then girls when it comes to gossip." Julie exclaimed.

"Yeah, so chill." Connie added, completely exasperated.

"I was just saying." Luis mumbled defensively.

"Well, don't." Julie added. Everyone wondered curiously why Julie was acting like bitchy Julie whenever someone brought up Goldberg's date, or any date in general, or a significant other. While they were all curious, none of the Ducks wanted to ask her about it, knowing that she would more then likely beat them senseless with her hockey stick. Luis held his hands up in surrender and whistled innocently.

"Oh, look." Dean said, hoping to get Julie to calm down, "There's Piper now." Julie looked over in the direction that Dean was waving in and sighed in relief, Piper had come with their mother and Adriaan.

"Hi mom." Julie said, serenely. Dean was satisfied with Julie's reaction because he knew that for some reason having Piper and her mother around always calmed Julie down. It was as if she was where she truly wanted to be.

"Hi, honey."

"Hey, Julie?" Piper asked, "You left your cell phone in my room yesterday." She pulled out Julie's razor phone and gave it to her, "You missed two calls. One from a guy named Kermit, and one from someone named Regan." Several of the Ducks laughed.

"Oh, shut up." Julie snapped, threatening to turn into bitchy and demonic Julie again and effectively shutting them up, "Kermit and Regan? Those are really the names that you saw." Piper nodded.

"Yup." A smoky, female voice said, "And you didn't pick up!" Julie turned as her eyes grew to the size of saucers, "We were calling to tell you we were coming to visit."

"Regan." Julie said happily as she walked up to the women and hugged her. All of the male Ducks gaped at the sight of her. She was fairly tall with dark brown hair and mischievously sparkling brown eyes. Her body was worked out, but not rock hard, and it was being showed off by a halter belly top, a jean jacket that was rolled up to her elbows, and a pair of baggy black jeans that were being help up by a hemp belt. Also, she had tattoos on her forearms, neck, hands, and stomach. Each of her ears had two earrings each, a belly button ring, and when she talked they noticed that she also had a tongue ring.

"Hey, Julie-Cat." Regan replied, "How you been?"

"As of late?" Julie asked, "Crappy. And you?"

Regan raised her eye brow, "Why crappy?" Julie just shook her head in reply, not wanting to talk about her dissent from Scooter's life that was rapidly speeding up.

"Where's Kermit?" Julie asked.

Regan shrugged, "Probably out kicking Dusty's ass somewhere."

Julie chuckled, "What did he do this time?"

"Refusal to ask for directions." Regan said simply, "We got lost in New York and I had to steal the wheel for a while."

"You all drove?" Regan nodded, "Oh, god."

"It was the only thing that we could do, according to Kermit." Regan explained, "Apparently if we did anything else the Richard and Marianne would have found out and insisted they come with us."

Julie chuckled sourly, "Just to bust my ass into hell and back."

"Julie?" Piper's voice brought her back to reality.

"Oh, right." Julie said as she turned around, "Guys, I want you all to meet Regan Craig. She's my brother's girlfriend."

"Brother?" Piper and Jada asked at the same time.

Julie shook her head, "Stepbrother." She corrected. Regan couldn't help but notice the scoff in the older women's face. This was clearly the mother that Julie had told her about, but was never allowed to talk about by her father, nor her stepmother, Marianne.

"You must be Julie's mother." Regan said as she held out her hand to Jada, "Julie's told us a lot about you."

"Us?" Jada asked.

Regan nodded, "Kermit and I, plus our friend Dusty, the direction phobic one that I was talking about earlier." Jada nodded, "Speaking of whom..." She added, pointing in the direction of door to the outside. Julie laughed to herself as she watched her 23 year old stepbrother and his best friend since the age of two argue about why Kermit was never freaked out by anything that anyone did. Unless, of course, it was Julie doing something, then he switched into older-brother mode.

"You two are psychotic." Julie said as she rolled her eyes. Kermit flashed a half smile and left Dusty to pull Julie into a huge bear hug, "Kermit? Kermit? Kermit Raymond St. Clair, I can't breathe."

Kermit looked at her for a moment and dropped her, "Sorry, sis." Kermit was tall and skinny, but he was not one to be messed with. His hair was light brown and cut short and he had a well trimmed beard to match; he wore blue jeans and a black long sleeved shirt that covered the memoriam tattoo that he had gotten for his father when he died. Julie knew Kermit's tattoo and the story behind it from beginning to end. His father, Patrick St. Clair, had been big news all over the country in stocks and investments and that kind of thing, but when Kermit was 15 he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The doctors removed it and Patrick was given a clean bill of health for the time being; then when Kermit turned 20 and the tumor grew back, causing Patrick to die within 2 months. The memoriam tattoo was on Kermit's chest, over his heart, and it was a brain with "Patrick St. Clair" written over it in curly writing.

Julie nodded, "Kermit, this is my mom and sister, Piper." She pointed over to her mother and sister as Kermit stiffened with a this-is-awkward look painted on his face. Julie sighed and pulled Kermit's collar down so that she could talk in his ear, "Disregard anything that dad said about her."

Kermit pulled himself back up and nodded as well, "I've already done that." He reassured her, "Particularly after George and I spent some quality time together. He likes her."

"When did you and my grandfather spend quality time together?" Julie asked, baffled.

"He brought me to the big JV/Varsity showdown last year." Kermit replied nonchalantly. Julie's eyes widened, she didn't know that they were there,"When all the wedding plans where going on... I thought I was going to go insane, so he offered to pull me away for a while."

"The wedding." Julie said bitterly, "Between dad and Marianne... The wedding that I wasn't invited to." Kermit distinctly saw Julie's mother drop her jaw, "The wedding that I knew nothing about until I came home for Spring Break, which was two weeks after said wedding." Julie slammed her fist on the table, "That wedding?" She asked sweetly.

"Uh-huh." Kermit replied. Julie noticed that Kermit was getting exceedingly angry as well, so an idea popped into her head that would cheer them both up at poor Dusty's expense.

"Hey, Dusty?" Julie asked. He pulled his sunglasses down over his nose and leaned against the table next to Kermit, "What's the capital of Thailand?"

Dusty shook his head in confusion at this question, but answered nonetheless, "Bangkok. Why?"

"Exactly." Julie said slyly. Dusty looked confused as Kermit raised his hand slightly, made it into a fist, and thrust it between his friend's legs, "Bangkok... Bang. Cock. Bangkok."

"You two suck." Dusty breathed as he feel into a seat while everyone around him laughed or tried to keep from laughing.

Dean, however, couldn't keep what he had had on his mind inside anymore. He raised his hands and pretended to bow, "Julie is queen. Julie is queen. Cat-lady almighty." Julie laughed and playfully shoved Dean's shoulder and it took all that he had to let her hand move away.

(--------)

Goldberg sat quietly in his booth at Mickey's. Tarah at told him that it was one of her favorite places to go, so he told her to meet him there. He was thanking God in every way that Mrs. Conway didn't work past 12:45 on Saturday's, otherwise it would have been really awkward to talk to her about what he was doing there. He tapped his straw against the table and sighed. "Am I boring you?" A voice asked.

He looked up and saw Tarah standing on the other side of the booth, "Now I'm not bored."

Tarah giggled, "I'm so sorry that I took so long." She sighed, "My mother had to get all of her paperwork together and she recruited me. I hate it when she does that."

"Paperwork?"

Tarah sighed heavily, "She's a real estate agent." She rolled her eye, "And she has this delusion that I'm going to follow her into that line of work. No thank you."

"What do you want to do?" Goldberg asked.

Tarah looked slightly uncomfortable, but she spoke nonetheless, "If I tell you, do you promise not to be completely weirded out?" He nodded, "Okay, I want to go to Midwifery school and became a registered Midwife."

"Cool."

"Really?" Tarah asked, "You think so?"

Goldberg nodded, "My Great Aunt Abigail and my cousin Dianna are both midwifes... Well, Great Aunt Abigail has retired, but you get the point."

"Really." Tarah said, "No kidding."

"Nope."

Tarah chuckled to herself, "So, what does the great goalie-slash-defense men what to do with his life outside of High School?"

Goldberg couldn't help but notice her laugh, it was really sweet and caring. Plus, she always gave the impression of a nice person, even when she was spreading orange flavored ice cream all over a bitchy cheerleader. Not to mention, he liked the way that she called him 'Greg', "I don't know really." He admitted, "I was thinking of doing something like my parents; with the deli, you know. I might take it over, I might not." He shrugged.

"That's a good answer." Tarah said, "You don't need to know yet." Goldberg nodded as she looked over the menu, "I will be eating... everything."

"Everything?"

"Well, I mean, I can't let good burgers go to waste. Plus you need fries and onion rings and drinks to go with. But I'm also a sucker for nostalgic foods like a good, old fashioned grilled cheese sandwich or a bowl of macaroni and cheese. And, no one can forget desserts." She smiled and her eyes twinkled.

Goldberg laughed, "You are a girl after my own heart."

"I hope that was a compliment." Tarah replied.

"It most certainly was." Goldberg replied.

Tarah smiled, "Thank you, Greg." She looked back over the menu, "We could be here a while."

"That's what I like to hear."

(---------)

Dani sighed as she skated around the ice. It had to be at least 11:30 at night, but she was stressed and she felt that she needed to be skating, that she wasn't good enough yet. The only light that she had was the light from the few over head lights that she had bothered to turn on, and they were getting dimmer by the second. Actually, to her it looked like a scene from a movie or something.

Breathing deeply, Dani skated around to gain speed. As soon as she thought she had enough, Dani set herself up for a double Lutz. She thought that she had done everything correctly, but as soon as she landed, it was all wrong. Although she didn't fall, it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that she had... "You Flutzed." A voice said.

"I'm aware of that." Dani replied to her coach as he walked down to her, thinking correctly that he would find her there. Dani hated the 'Flutz' as much as anyone in skating. A Flutz was combining a flip with a Lutz, with the skater rocking to the inside before they take off, "I haven't Flutzed since I was 10." She hated doing so as well.

"You need to stop putting so much pressure on yourself." He replied as she turned around to look at him, "I've already taken you to the hospital once, and I don't want to do it again. You shouldn't stress yourself out."

Dani chuckled, "'Shouldn't stress myself out'?" She asked incredulously, "This is the Olympics, remember? Or has it slipped your mind?"

"No, no it hasn't." He replied, smiling to himself, "But after you made the team, I asked everyone that I could about you and your skating. They all said that it was as if you were in your own little world and that nothing that you ever did went wrong if you were like that."

Dani shook her head and sighed, "Pardon me saying, but lately my 'own little world' has gotten a little bit fucked up as of late."

"You're pardoned." He replied. Dani rolled her eyes, "Look, I understand about having problems." He sighed, as if not wanting to say what was on his mind, "If you want to drop out, you still have time. I don't want you too, but..."

"NO!" Dani practically screamed, "I mean, no, I don't. I really, really don't. I just have some stuff that I have to work out, but it's not going to knock me out."

"That's good to know." He said, "But you know what will knock you out?" Dani shook her head, "Lack of sleep. Come on, you need to rest." Dani laughed lightly and skated over to the opening in the wall. She sat and pulled of her skates, put on her shoes, tied the laces together, and placed them over her shoulder, "Come on." He walked next to her as she turned off the lights and they exited the warm building to get blasted with cold and snow.

"Minnesota's lovely this time of year, isn't it?" She asked. Dani would be the first to admit that she loved pretty much any form of precipitation. Being in the lightly falling snow reminded her of her first date with Adam, when they ran in the rain and fell in the mud. Sighing heavily, Dani tried to put the thought out of her mind.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Dani replied, but she knew that he wasn't satisfied with that, "It's girl stuff." She added.

"Then I won't ask."

"Thank you." Dani breathed out heavily so that her breath turned into ice in front of her. She stopped for a moment, thinking that she thought that she heard footsteps coming towards them from the front, but she shrugged it off and raced to catch back up.

"I thought that you were going back."

"Nope. You're right, I'm beat." Once again she thought that she heard something, "Wait, did you hear that?" She asked worriedly.

He looked around, "No. What was it?"

"I have no idea."

"Then we should go." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her away from the cold metal and concrete building that was the home side of the football field, "Look out!" He screamed as Dani felt herself being pushed down onto the ground.

Dani caught herself as she fell felt her wrist twisting and turning, but not breaking. She called out in pain as her wrist became sprained, but when she looked up, she gasped in horror. A tall and deathly thin man, wearing a ski mask, had his hand to Eric Orion's stomach and when he pulled it away, he pulled a knife out as well. Dani watched as her coach fell to the ground in pain and the man turned on her, "For so long." He whispered, "You didn't like my gifts. You ungrateful bitch."

As the man, who looked about ten feet tall to Dani at the moment, raised the knife in her direction and walked towards her, hunched over, as if he wanted to look in her eyes. Dani back away, holding her wrist to her chest, and suddenly felt a cold, metal blade against her hand. She ran her hand down the metal and felt slippery wood attached to it. _'A shovel!' _Dani cried to herself as she picked it up and swung it as hard as possible. The thud that she heard told her that she met her mark.

Dani dropped the shovel and crawled over to her Coach, "Coach?" She asked. He mumbled incoherently, causing Dani to rush to pull out her cell phone as she placed her sprained hand over his wound and pressing hard, despite the pain it caused her. Quickly dialing 911, she made sure to keep an eye on the attacker, "Hello?" She asked as a women operator picked up, "We need an ambulance. Someone just attacked us with a knife." The women asked if anyone was hurt, "Several people." Dani replied, "We're at Eden Hall, near the football field, please hurry." The women continued talking to her until she saw lights, "They're here!" Dani said happily as she hung up. She pulled out the mini flashlight that her coach always had in his pocket and shined it to get their attention.

"Are you alright?" A male police office in his mid 20's asked as he reached her.

"I've been better." Dani said, noticing that the man was looking around rather twitchy. "If you're looking for the knife wielding maniac, he's over there." She pointed towards the area that he had fallen in.

"What happened to him?" The cop asked as EMTs and the man's partner ran up to them.

"I hit him with a shovel." Dani said simply as she raised her hand from the wound to let the EMTs take over.

"Single stab wound." One of the EMTs said, "It looks pretty deep." Dani gasped as she moved her hand back to her chest. The EMT gently took a hold of her wrist, "Sprained wrist."

"Yeah." Dani replied, "Not me that I'm worried about." A second group of EMTs tended to the masked man, "He's a knife wielder." Dani informed them.

"My guess is that you gave him a shovel to the _head_." Another EMT said as they raised the man onto a stretcher.

"He had a knife." Dani replied exasperatedly. She watched as they raised a flashlight and began to wheel him away. "Wait." Dani called, remembering what the man had said. His gifts, that meant that he was the one making her life hell, "I want to see his face."

"Are you sure?" Dani nodded as the EMTs raised the flashlight to the man's face and pulled off his ski mask. Dani felt her jaw drop and tears fill in her eyes.


	43. Off, On, Off, On: That's Life For You

**Life's Full Of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**Tinkerbell821-** Cruel and unusual punishment? Yeah, I kind of thought so. Are you really demanding this chapter that much? You have no idea how much that means to me and how happy it makes me. I'm glad that you can't wait to read what happens next.

**Bad Best Friend-** I thought that people would not be able to believe that I ended the last chapter the way that I did. Aren't I an evil little creature? At the very least you think it's thrilling, so I guess that that makes up for it a little bit... Possibly, maybe... Kind of... Not really... But whatever! You'll figure out who the madman is soon, so don't worry about that. As for Greg and Tarah... They really are cute, aren't they? I'm glad that you think so.

Thank you PrincessH and nilber!

(-------)

Sitting against the wall in the Emergency Room, Dani pulled the blanket that she had been given tighter over her shoulders. Her coach had been immediately taken to surgery while she had her wrist taken care of. She had been given what looked like a wrist pad that someone would wear while roller skating, but it helped, so she wasn't going to complain.

Looking up, Dani saw the first police officer that had arrived after she had called, "Here." He said, handing her a steaming Styrofoam cup of tea, "How are you?"

Dani laughed to herself and took a sip of the tea, "Fantastic." She replied sarcastically, "Really hunky dory, Officer Diller."

"Just Henry, you don't need to be so formal." He replied, "Your probably no older then my sister anyway, so don't worry about it." Dani nodded and took another drink of the tea, "I have to ask you, do you know the man that attacked you and Mr. Orion tonight."

"Yup." Dani replied.

"What is his name?" Henry asked.

Dani sighed, this was harder then she thought it would be, "His name is J-J-Jam-James. James Tobas. He knew my mother when they were teenagers." Dani bit her lip, "And I have no idea what he wants with me, I've never personally met him in my life."

"I see." Henry replied, "Do you want to give your statement how, or would you prefer later."

Dani sighed, "Tomorrow. I really just want to go home and sleep right now."

"Of course." He said, "Is there anyone that I can have called for you?"

She shook her head, "No, I can manage." Henry nodded and walked away. Dani sighed and pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number, "Pick up, please." She muttered.

"Hello?"

"Gala!" Dani said excitedly, "It's Dani, I was wondering if I could ask you a big favor."

"Of course." Gala replied.

(--------)

Dean slept silently, not knowing anything that was occurring. Because of Mrs. Reed's attack, he and Fulton had been spending their nights at Eden Hall until she recovered enough to go home. Dean wasn't quite sure what he was dreaming at the moment, but what he did know was that the large mass on his stomach was painful, "What the hell?" He screamed as he shot up and scowled at the sight of Caleb on the floor, laughing, "You."

"Watch your language, young man." A deep voice said.

"Dad?" Dean asked as he looked around the room, "Wha..." For once in his life, Dean Portman was absolutely lost for words and confused as hell. His father was leaning against the door, Alec and Cami were smiling from the closet, Caleb was still on the floor, and his mother was holding Felix on her hip while standing at the end of Fulton's bed, "Wait a minute... The last Dani and I heard, you were in the hospital."

Dean saw how his mother squirmed slightly, "Alec, could you take your brothers for a few minutes?" She asked. Alec nodded and took Felix from his mother and Cami pulled Caleb to his feet, herding him out the door behind Alec and Felix.

"You two heard about that?" His father asked guiltily.

Dean sighed and threw the covers off of his bed and stood, "Dad, Dani and I are in Minnesota, not under a rock of stupidity." He replied, not rudely, but upset, "Dani called Uncle Dante after you left, mom, and Leah called, of course. How did you two think that we wouldn't find out?" He took a quick breath and continued, "And even if we hadn't, sending Jeannette would have been a major red flag."

"We know, we thought that it would be best if you two didn't have to worry about it."

"Mom," Dean replied, "We were worried before we knew what was happening. You running off that fast and not telling us what was going on made us worry."

His father sighed, "Now that I think about it, Dante was acting pretty weird after I woke up."

"I have to agree."

Dean pulled out clothes, "I think the one that you should talk to know is Dani, she was practically hysterical." Both of his parents nodded, "Although, you'll have to wait to find out where she is. Lately, even Tammy and Gia have a hard time knowing where she is."

"We should get back to the hotel." Alyssa said, "We'll see you later." She added hopefully.

Dean nodded, "Everyone is meeting up at Julie's mother's place, she lives in Edina, at 4:30. Pick me up here and I'll show you the way." Once again, they nodded and then left. Dean couldn't believe what he had just seen, his father was perfectly okay and acting as if he had just been out for midday stroll or something. He brought his clothes into the bathroom and threw them on the floor. Feeling as is head would explode, Dean leaned over the sink as stinging tears dripped down his face. Not realizing what he was doing, Dean lifted his left hand, clenched it into a fist and rammed it into the tile wall.

"Shit." He mumbled to himself. Pulling his clothes on, Dean momentarily wondered where Fulton had gone, but then remembered that he always went to see his mother. Looking back at his hand, Dean had no idea what he was going to do. "Coming." He called to a distant knock on the door. Not bothering to cover the blood and bruising on his hand, Dean walked to the door and opened it, "Hey, Julie. What are you doing here?"

"I distinctly heard what sounded like tile cracking." She replied, "So I came to check and make sure that you weren't having a rock star moment." He couldn't help but laugh, "And by the look of your hand, I see that I might be a little late." She pushed herself into the room and raced into the bathroom, pulling peroxide, a washcloth, athletic tape, and bandages out of the cabinets.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Do you want your hand get infected or something?" She asked as she came out of the bathroom and sat on his bed, "Sit."

_'Holy shit, Julie is on my bed...' _Dean couldn't help but think to himself. "Uh... Thanks Julie."

"Not a problem." She replied as he sat down and she poured the peroxide on the washcloth and gently pressed it over his bleeding knuckles. "What happened?"

Dean knew that she was talking about his hand, but he had to ask himself if he wanted to tell her. He came to the same conclusion that he had come to when she asked him about his father, "My family showed up. My dorky little brother jumped on me to wake me up and when I looked around, they were there. Even my dad." Julie's eyes widened in shock, "He's perfectly fine."

"Oh, God." Julie replied, "They never called to tell you or Dani anything?"

Dean shook his head, "Apparently they didn't know that we knew. If you believe that kind of bullshit."

"Jeez, that's just..." Julie stopped, trying to think of a word, "I have no idea what that is." She carefully taped a large bandage over his wound and wrapped an ace bandage around it as well.

Dean smiled, "Thanks Jules. But do you mind if I ask you a question?"

"Not at all." Julie replied.

Dean sighed, "Now, you have every right to tell me that I need to mind my own business, but is anything wrong with you a Scooter?" The look on her face told him that she hadn't expected that, "Like I said, tell me to shut up if you want to, but I've just been noticing that you two are together a lot less and every time I see Piper and him in the same room, she has that I'm-going-to-kill-that-little-bastard look on her face."

"It's nothing." Julie said, "Just Piper being Piper."

Dean chuckled, "Yes, I remember Piper being Piper well." Julie raised her eyebrows, "It involved me carrying her over the threshold of the gym."

"Please don't make me remember that." Julie said as she joined Dean in laughing about Piper being Piper.

(-------)

Julie walked to the bus stop and waited for Scooter. He had called her several hours earlier and had asked her to meet him there, because he had something important to tell her. Looking up, Julie noticed that the sky was becoming a dark gray. "If I get rained on, I swear I will never forgive him." She mumbled to herself.

"Julie!"

"Scooter." Julie replied as he joined her inside the bus stop, "So, what is it that you wanted to tell me?" Scooter smiled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope that looked as if it had been ripped open with hyperactive enthusiasm. Julie, while slightly surprised and confused, took the envelope, "The University of Florida?" She asked. Scooter nodded as Julie pulled out the letter, "Oh my God, you got accepted... Not that I'm all that surprised, but congratulations." She quickly pulled him into a hug and gave him a kiss, but he didn't return it, "What?" She asked suspiciously.

Scooter sighed, making Julie more nervous then she already was, "Look, Julie. I really care about you a lot, you know that."

"Yes, and I feel the same way." Julie replied, "What is it that you are so scared to tell me."

He took her hands in his and sighed again, "Jules, you know that Florida was my first choice." She nodded, "I don't think that we'll work if I'm so far away."

"What?" Julie asked as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Scooter could see the tears welling up in her eyes, "Julie, if I'm in Florida and you're back here in Minnesota, how can it work?" The tears that had been welling up in Julie's eyes now dripped down her cheeks. Scooter sighed sadly and wiped them away with his thumb, "Even in summer. I'll be here and you'll be back in Maine."

"But we could visit each other." Julie replied, "I mean, summer, long weekends, school holidays. We could see each other then."

"I'm sorry, Julie." Scooter said, "But I don't want you to be tied down."

Julie laughed in a cynical and non believing way, "You don't want me to be tied down?" Scooter nodded, "Or you don't want to be tied down to me?"

"Baby, it's nothing like that." He said as he stroked her cheek, "I do care about you, more then I ever have anyone else."

"Then why can't we work this out?" Julie managed to choke out.

"I'm sorry, but it's over." He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, "I'll see you around." He said hopefully.

Julie sniffled with a sad and pained smile on her face. She couldn't believe that he was doing this to her, after the hell she put up with from his former teammates and the fear of betrayal that she thought that Ducks would feel when she and Scooter started dating, "Only if the swelling goes down." She said.

"What?" Scooter asked confused. His question was quickly answered as Julie's clenched fist made contact with his eye.

(--------)

Julie sighed as she tried to cover her puffy, red eyes with her mother's concealer in Piper's bathroom, "Honey, do you want to talk about it?" Her mother asked from the doorway. Piper nodded in agreement from the bath tub.

She sighed, but figured that she need to tell someone, "Scooter broke up with me because he got his acceptance letter from the U of Florida."

"I'm going to kill him!" Piper exclaimed.

"No!" Julie and Jada said at the same time. The doorbell rang and Piper left her sister and mother to open the door, "Honey, it'll be okay."

"I guess." Julie replied as she decided that she had done that best that she could and went downstairs to join her teammates and their parents. "Hi guys." She said as she entered the living room. The doorbell rang again and Piper raced to open it. Julie looked around and saw that the only one that hadn't arrived was Dean, so she knew what was coming, "Portman, if you pick my sister up I will start hurling knives at you." She called.

Dean jumped into the large doorway, "Sorry, Pi, but I believe her." He said. Piper rolled her eyes and sat down next to her mother. Dean walked in as his family stood in the doorway, "Guys, sit." He said, "For those of you who don't know, this is my family. Mom. Dad. Computer nerd, older brother, Alec." Alec shot him an evil look, "Lunatic 10 year old, Caleb." Caleb rolled his eyes, "And the one holding the vase is Felix."

Alyssa's eyes showed panic as she pulled an ornate vase out of her 2 year old son's hand, "Felix, honey." She placed it back on the table as Felix's eye began to swell with tears.

Jada laughed, "It's okay, it's plastic. I hate that thing anyways."

"Pretty good looking plastic." Caleb remarked as he looked at the rainbow colored, waterfall looking vase.

Dean sighed, "Off the subject of _plastic_, Julie you really have a bad tendency of losing your cellphone." He said, remembering Piper having to bring Julie her cellphone at the mall, "Scooter's called about 50 times in the past hour." He added as he pulled her cellphone out of his jacket pocket, "I kind of wanted to pick up and make some kind of snarky remark, but I figured that you would beat me to death if I did, so here."

Julie shook her head, "I don't want to talk to him. If he calls again, make something up. Tell him that we're making out or something."

Dean shook his head confused, "Did I just hear that correctly?" Julie nodded, but everyone in the room seemed to be asking the same question. The phone began to ring and Dean looked back to Julie who nodded her head, "Hello?" He asked.

"Portman?" Scooter's voice said, "Is Julie there?" He asked.

"Yup." Dean replied simply.

"Can I talk to her?" He asked, getting a little annoyed.

"Nope." Dean said.

"Why not?"

"We're busy."

"_We're_?" Scooter asked in a panic, "Doing what?"

Dean shrugged, "Oh, a little of this, a little of that." He said innocently, knowing that Scooter was probably dying now, "Well, bye." Dean hung up and couldn't believe that he had just done that, but it felt really good. As if nothing could make him feel better, Julie smiled and mouthed 'Thank you' when he placed the phone on the table. From in the kitchen, everyone heard Adriaan switch on the television so that he wouldn't miss the news.

(-------)

Dani paced around the kitchen of her dorm room as she watched the television that she, Tammy, and Gia had been set up.

"_Last night, a large blow was dealt to the World of Sports." The reporter said, "For the story, here's Rayna Tennyson"_

"_Thanks Bridgette." Rayna said, "At approximately 11:45 pm, World Class Figure Skater and United States Olympic Coach, Eric Orion and United States Women's Olympic Figure Skater, Danielle Portman, were attacked by a man wielding a knife. The man is said to be former World Class Pairs Figure Skater, James Tobas." Rayna took a breath and continued, "Danielle Portman is said to have minimal injuries and was released early this morning. Eric Orion was nearly fatally wounded and remains in the hospital under the watchful eye of his doctors." _

Dani scoffed at the television, but jumped when it turned off, "That was getting depressing." A voice said.

"Thanks, Gunnar." Dani replied as she turned around, "I never got to thank Gala for coming to get me, where did she run off to so quickly?"

Gunnar shrugged, "She has been doing that a lot lately."

"Something that she doesn't want big brother to know?" Dani teased, knowing that it would get under Gunnar's skin if Gala didn't want him to know something, he told her everything, after all.

"Of course not." He snapped.

"No need to get huffy." Dani replied, "I was just joking."

"'Huffy'?"

"Upset." Dani clarified.

"Oh." Gunnar replied.

Dani smiled as a knock came at the door. She wondered if she should answer it, but remembered that James Tobas was in the hospital under lock and key practically, "Who is it?" She called.

"Who do you think?" A voice replied.

Dani smiled and squealed as the door opened, "Leah!"

"Yup. I have arrived." The duo hugged each other and jumped around until Dani tried to pull away.

"Leah. Leah. Le!" She called, "My wrist, wrist."

Leah pulled away, "Oh my god, what happened?"

"I fell." Dani said, being slightly truthful.

"Oh, there are some cops coming this way." Leah said as an after thought.

Dani sighed, "Oh, god, I forgot." She leaned against the island in the center of the kitchen, "The police need my statement."

"Statement?" Leah asked, appalled, "What don't I know?"

Dani shook her head, "I'll fill you in later." She didn't want Leah in the room when she talked to the police. Nor did she want Gunnar in the room... Wait. Of course, "Leah, this is Gunnar Stahl." Dani said, pulling Gunnar next to her, "Gunnar this is my best friend, Leah Tracy. Could you two entertain yourselves in another room while I talk to the police?"

Gunnar and Leah looked at each other with weird looks in their eyes that Dani didn't even want to attempt to place, "Sure." They said in unison.


	44. News

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**mickEmousina-** I'm overjoyed that you loved the last chapter. Actually, I was hoping that someone would comment on the phone call from Scooter. And my wish was granted! Plus, it made you smile, that's like icing on the cake. Yum, cake... Sorry about that. Anyway, I hope that me making you sound like a crack addict is a good thing, because if it wasn't, I would be worried.

**Tinkerbell821-** You need another chapter? Really? That makes me happy. As for everyone's reactions, the beginning of this chapter is simultaneous with the end portion of the last chapter because Adriaan had turned on the news. That's how everyone will find out. I promise that there will be hooking up, so you don't have to worry about loneliness.

Thank you PrincessH!

(-------)

Everyone in the room was smiling and laughing, particularly the Ducks. What ever Scooter had done to Julie justified her telling Dean that he could tell Scooter that he and Julie were making out... Alyssa couldn't help but like this girl, she was sweet one second, and the next she was the devil incarnate. Another thing that she couldn't help was noticing that Julie mouthed 'thank you' to Dean when he hung up and Dean _attempted_ shrugged it off like it was nothing. It was official, her son had a huge crush on his teammate, no doubt Dani would have already picked up on it.

"_Last night, a large blow was dealt to the World of Sports." The reporter said, "For the story, here's Rayna Tennyson."_

"_Thanks Bridgette." Rayna said, "At approximately 11:45 pm, World Class Figure Skater and United States Olympic Coach, Eric Orion and United States Women's Olympic Figure Skater, Danielle Portman, were attacked by a man wielding a knife."_

Everyone in the room practically jumped out of their seats and raced to the kitchen in what seemed like warp speed. Alyssa felt her ability to breathe leave her, and she felt her husband stiffen next to her, as they watched the news reporter standing outside of a hospital speak again.

"_The man is said to be former World Class Pairs Figure Skater, James Tobas." Rayna took a breath and continued, "Danielle Portman is said to have minimal injuries and was released early this morning. Eric Orion was nearly fatally wounded and remains in the hospital under the watchful eye of his doctors." _

Everyone heaved a huge sigh of relief that Dani was okay, but with that problem averted, the Portman parents had other things to worry about at the moment. Namely the fact that James Tobas was back in their lives after 20 years and had tried to kill their daughter. Alyssa reached back slightly for support, knowing that if Kal wasn't holding her up, the she would most defiantly faint. For once in their lives all of the Portman boys were quiet in the same place at the same time, a feat that didn't go unnoticed by their parents.

Standing in the back of the group, Adam fought hard to keep the tears from spilling onto his cheeks. Who is this guy that they were talking about and what did he attack Dani for? Surely she never did anything to him. But, then again, from the sound of it, this guy was a lunatic, so maybe it had nothing to do with the fact that it happened to be Dani and her coach that he had attacked. Okay, that thought isn't exactly comforting, but there was in point to it, wasn't there?

"_James Tobas was unconscious at the scene after he was hit in the head with a shovel, there is no explanation available as to how that happened." Rayna took another breath, "Another little plot twist to this story," Rayna went on, "is that after being discharged, Danielle Portman was picked up from the hospital by Gala and Gunnar Stahl." She smiled a little half smile before continuing, "And there have been reports of sightings of Danielle and Gunnar having dinner together on several occasions. This may come as a shock to many people as Danielle and Gala are the top contenders for the gold metal in the Olympics next February." _

Dean stood dumbstruck at the thought that this women had just put into his head. Gunnar and Dani? He hoped beyond hope not, "Julie, it's time to return the favor." He said as he turned and pick up a frying pan, "Hit me over the head with this as hard as you can."

Julie continued to stare at the screen, "Dani and... No, that's not... Not all news is accurate, I mean... I need to sit down." She finally managed as she plopped into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.

"I like the way she thinks." Alec added as he mimicked her movements.

Caleb's face was steadily turning red, "Who is this guy and how hard would it be to kill him?"

Dean laughed tartly, "Oh, you poor, naïve, little child." Dean said as he patted Caleb on the head rather hard.

"What?" Caleb asked indignantly.

Dean shook his head, "Gunnar Stahl was the lead scorer during the Junior Goodwill Games. Even better, he was a Viking and he's huge." Caleb shrugged his shoulders as if what Dean said didn't matter to him. Turning to his parents, Dean sighed, "This kid is going to get himself killed one day, and I will laugh at him for it."

(-------)

_20 year old Alyssa Nazario breathed deeply as she walked up to the small beach side house in Long Island, New York. She prayed that the man that she was going to see would forgive her and they would leave it at that. The man that she hoped would let her talk to him was none other the Kal Portman. More then likely he would slam the door in her face, not that she deserved any less. Walking up the steps and taking another deep breath, Alyssa knocked on the door and hoped that he would open it. _

_The air whipped her hair around as the lock unlocked and the door opened. Just as Alyssa had expected, Kal didn't look pleased to see her, but he looked really good in his jeans and apron. God love men who cook, "What do you want?" He asked sourly._

"_I just wanted to..." Alyssa said, trying to find the right words, "Can I come in? Please?" Kal sighed, weighing his options. He nodded reluctantly, "Thank you." She stepped into his small house and smiled, Kal always had good taste when it came to pretty much anything. Thank God he didn't end up like his parents; not only were they psychotic, but they were slobs and downright demanding, just bordering on abusive, "I love what you've done with the place." She said, trying to lighten the mood. _

_Kal sighed, "Well, I just moved in, so it pretty much came this way. Besides, I doubt that you came here to praise my designing ability. What do you want?"_

"_I want to apologize for the way that I have been acting these past few months." Alyssa admitted._

_Kal rolled his eyes, "The way you acted?" He asked sarcastically, "Oh, you mean the pig-headed, condescending bitch that you've been impersonating ever since your partner kissed you on the ice in front of millions of people world wide." _

_Alyssa scoffed, "You're holding _me _to that?" She asked, her eyes wide with disbelief, "I had no idea that that was going to happen." _

"_Well, you didn't exactly stop it." _

"_Like I had a choice!" Alyssa screamed, "If you didn't notice, I was a little to preoccupied with trying to stand and trying to figure out what the hell he was doing." _

"_I bet your father loved it once he figured out that it would get me out of your life." Kal shot back, remembering Giuseppe Nazario's reaction to what had happened that day. _

"_What?" Alyssa asked indignantly, "My father had nothing to do with that. You walked away from me." _

"_You pulled away." _

"_I had my reasons." _

_"What? What were your reasons?" Kal asked._

_Alyssa stopped for a moment and then shook her head, "I don't need to deal with this." She said, "I should have never hoped that you would see reason." _

"_Me not see reason?" Kal asked, "I haven't seen or heard anything from you that seemed reasonable in any way, shape, or form! Just run, like always." _

"_What the hell is that suppose to mean?" _

_Kal slammed his fist on the kitchen counter, "It means that I loved you with all my heart and I still do, but you always run or push me away. It kills me that you don't feel the same way. And when I think that I have a chance of letting you go to live your life, you show up and increase the pain tenfold. You make it that much harder." _

_Alyssa couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You can't possibly think that I deliberately try to hurt you?" _

"_Show me something to the contrary." Kal snapped back. _

_Alyssa couldn't help but feel the tears well up in her eyes, "After all I did, you think that? After lying to my brothers and disobeying my father so that we could be together, you think that I would want to torture you?" Several tears dripped down her cheeks, "I would never do that to anyone." _

"_You say that, but you contradict yourself by throwing away everything that we had together." Kal replied, the anger in his voice being replaced by pain and hurt, "You say that you lied to your brothers and disobeyed your father, and now you are willing to throw all that that was for down the toilet." He turned from her and leaned over the sink, "I know that you felt the same way I did. And I still do. Just leave."_

"_No!" Alyssa shot back, "You think that I can forget you by leaving? Of course not. I don't throw away what we had, I did what I had to do." _

"_'What you had to do'?" Kal asked, his voice raising even though he saw the tears reforming in Alyssa's eyes, "What was so horrible about being with me that you had to end it? Why?"_

"_BECAUSE I LOVE YOU TOO MUCH!" Alyssa screamed back as she dropped into one of the seats at the kitchen table with her head in her hands and tears flowing down her cheeks, "I love you too much, that's why." She whispered._

_Kal felt his anger melt away as she cried in front of his, "Aly? What are you talking about?" He couldn't help but walk over to her and get down on his knees next to her, placing his arms comfortingly around her, "What's wrong?"_

_Alyssa looked up at Kal's face and sobbed some more. She pulled away from him gently and reached into her thin jacket pocket, pulling out about 30 envelopes bound together with a rubber band, "I've been getting these for a while. Two years next month, actually." _

_Taking the letters and pulling off the rubber band, Kal sighed, he was sure that these didn't mean anything good. He gasped as he read the letters, which were always sighed 'Your Secret Admirer'. This guy was obviously crazy, talking about marriage and love and not needing anyone else but Alyssa. Kal sighed and dropped them on the table, "Aly, are you okay?" _

_Alyssa sighed shakily, "I'm fine. But he said that I had to break it off with you or else there would be an 'unfortunate accident of uncontrollable circumstances'."_

"_Haven't you told anybody?" _

"_No!" Alyssa shot back, "He promised that if I did, then he would hurt my dad, my brothers, my sister-in-law, Jeannette, you... Anybody that I cared about would be hurt. I couldn't." _

"_Aly... I promise that nothing will happen to you." Kal said._

"_It's not me I'm worried about." Alyssa replied, "I shouldn't have come here, he'll find out." She made to stand up, but Kal held her down, "Kal, please."_

"_You're staying, end of story." _

* * *

_Alyssa looked out at the sunset as she ate another Coney Chili Dog on none other then Coney Island, "Jesus, how many of those things can you eat?" Kal asked._

"_I have a fast metabolism." Alyssa replied coyly. _

"_I'm sure you do, but that would be your fourth." _

"_So. What's your point." _

_Kal shook his head in defeat as she ate her Chili dog satisfactorily, "I thought you loved your Chicago style hot dogs." _

"_I can like both." Alyssa said, "But nothing beats Chicago Deep Dish pizza. I swear, Jeanette and I can polish off a large by ourselves." Kal made a motion as if he was throwing up, "Oh, shut up. Just because your content with your little salad doesn't mean that I have to be." _

_Kal shook his head, "I hate salad. I'm a spicy, Hispanic man and I love my spicy, Hispanic food." _

"_You know, I think that some Italian and Hispanic recipes would go great mixed together." _

"_You should teach me some, then I can cook them." _

_Alyssa shook her head, "I happen to be a master of disaster in the kitchen. I really can't cook." Kal looked skeptical, "Yeah, I screw up TV dinners. I am that bad. I would starve if my dad didn't know how to cook." Kal shifted uncomfortably at the mention of Alyssa's father, "But on a different topic. The park is almost closed, we should do a little more." _

"_You're right, we should." He stood and held out his hand. Alyssa smiled and took it. Kal smiled and led her towards the end of the dock, "Aly, I love you." _

"_I love you too." Alyssa replied. The past week with Kal had been the happiest time of her life and if she had anything to say about it, it wouldn't end at any point soon. Although, Kal was acting pretty weird, which meant that he was up to something. _

_Kal fiddled with the sleeve of his shirt as they reached the end of the docks, "I know that I've made some mistakes in my life, but you aren't one of them." He was still looking out at the sunset. Alyssa faced him, she felt the same way, and he knew that, "Aly." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful two caret diamond ring that had once been his grandmother's, the only member of his family, save his sister, that he could stand, "Will you marry me?" Alyssa was in shock, she couldn't talk. Kal was hoping for this reaction, normally she was so hard to shock, so this was the icing on the cake. At least, it was if it didn't last too long. Out of the corner of his eye, Kal saw movement and a flash of sunlight hitting metal, "Aly, get down!" He screamed as he simultaneously shoved her down and turned. A searing pain in his stomach spread throughout his body as a knife pierced the skin and was pulled out. _

"_Kal?" Alyssa asked, confused, as she landed on the wood. Once she looked up, Alyssa gasped at the sight of the man she loved covered in blood, "James?" She asked in horror at her former partner and best friend (tied with Jeannette) standing with a bloody knife in his hand. _

"_I warned you to stay away from him. All my letters, all my hints... You never listened. You never have and you never will." James said monotonously, raising the knife in her direction. _

_As she tried to back away, a massive figure stalked behind James and punched him in the lower back, causing him to drop the knife. As James stumbled, the massive man placed him in a Full Nelson, "Frankie! Call 911!" He called to a tattooed women standing three feet away from him. _

"_Kal!" Alyssa called as she stood and raced back over to him, "Baby, talk to me." She pulled him into her lap, placed her hand tightly over his wound, and looked into his eyes, "Baby?" _

"_Just say yes." He mumbled, almost incoherently, "Just say... yes."  
_

_"Sweetie, of course the answer's yes." Alyssa assured him, "Just stay with me." _

(--------)

Alyssa Portman shot up from her sleep in a panic from a dream that she hadn't had in years. She had no idea where she was until she looked around and saw her husband sleeping in the bed beside her; Felix was sleeping on a mattress that they had brought with them; Caleb was on the couch, mumbling in his sleep; Alec was on the other bed, and Cami had the smaller room that was attached to their's all to herself.

Gently sliding off of the bed, Alyssa made her way to the bathroom. Praying that she didn't completely lose her composure as she walked, Alyssa thought about what had happened. James had been one of her two best friends, but he turned out to be a drugged out stalker with a stab wound fetish. He actually got turned on by blood pouring out of stab wounds, it was absolutely disgusting. And after all that she and Kal had gone through to get him locked away, he was out again.

Just thinking about that day made her skin crawl; it set off a chain of events that had nothing to do with the law or lawyers or jail, but something much more important. Her wedding. Alyssa's brothers and father refused to come to her wedding, claiming that Kal was going to ruin her life. None of Kal's family came either, but Alyssa was happy about that. A friend of Kal's had taken the risk to 'borrow' his little sister Mickelle, Mickie for short, who was 6 years old at the time (Kal was 22) so that she could come. Brooke, who was 8 months pregnant with Ash, had only come for a moment so that she could congratulate them, but not have to deal with awkward questions from her husband. In fact, neither her father nor her brothers, talked to her or Kal until she had a pregnancy scare with Dean and Dani (who they only thought was Dean, not knowing that they were having twins until they actually did). Her family was a strange one, but she was glad to be back on good terms with everyone. Now all that she needed was for Kal and Mickie to reconcile.

Alyssa walked to the bathroom and switched on the light. She pulled a plastic cup from the corner of the cabinet and placed it under the faucet. Turning on the water at full blast, she splashed water all over the counter, but she didn't care. Drinking the water in one gulp, it seemed as if it all rushed to her eyes, tears spilling out the minute she placed the cup back on the counter, "Aly?"

"I'll be back to bed in a second."

"Aly." Kal repeated, "You had the dream again, didn't you."

"God, how could I not?" She asked, "I thought he was out of my life forever. I mean, he was charged with stalking, attempted murder, possession of drugs, possession with intent to sell... What the hell happened?"

"It's okay, he'll go back to jail. " Kal assured her, "Plus, he was hit in the head with a shovel. I get the feeling that our daughter gave him a piece of her mind."

Alyssa laughed, "Mommy?" A small voice asked from the doorway, "What's funny?"

Felix was standing just outside the doorway, holding his stuffed caterpillar, King Bob George II, B.G. for short, "Nothing, Felix." Alyssa said as she walked over to her youngest child and kneeled down to his level. Felix lifted his free hand to his mothers face and traced the tear stains down her face.

(------)

Dani sighed as she walked towards the Ice Rink for a keeping-my-mind-off-of-other-things training session. Life had a funny way of throwing things at her and she was convinced that she would have to deal with the most current for a while. It seemed that, while she was giving her statement to the police, Gunnar and Leah found out that they had some stuff in common, so they had a date planed for that night. How that happened, Dani didn't know. She sure didn't intend for it to end up like that. Oh well, if Leah was happy, then she was happy. But Dean wouldn't be happy, so that was a big plus, particularly in Leah's book.

At the moment, Leah was raiding whatever she had as a closet and was going to meet up with Dani after she practiced because Leah knew that she was a bad mix with make up and Dani knew what she was doing. Dani's first priority, however, wasn't exactly Leah's date with Gunnar, it was a June 1985 edition of The New York Times that was current hidden in the inside pocket of her jacket. Dani was particularly keen to show it to her mother at some point in time.

"Dani!" Speaking of her mother...

"Mom?" Dani asked as she turned. Her jaw dropped as she watched not only her mother rushing up to her, but her father was as well, "What the hell?"

"Dani!" Alyssa replied, "Please watch the language."

Dani couldn't believe what she was hearing, "You're going to lecture me about my choice of words when I've been scared out of my mind about a certain shooting?" Dani asked. She had never felt what she was feeling at the moment. It was like she was angry, ecstatic, furious, upset, and confused at the same time. A strange feeling of satisfaction grew in her stomach as guilty expressions slipped onto her parents faces.

Kal sighed, "Dani, we didn't know that you and Dean knew."

Dani scoffed, "That's it? That's what you came up with?" She asked disbelievingly, "How would that work, anyway? Unless Dean and I were deaf, blind, and unable to speak, we would know. That's a completely insane excuse."

"Dani, we promise, it's the truth." Alyssa replied.

Dani still didn't believe them, but she had bigger fish to fry, "You two know about what happened a couple of days ago, right?"

"How are you, sweetie?" Kal asked.

"Peachy keen. Sprained wrist, no biggie." Dani replied, "But I was wondering, do the names Montgomery 'Monty' Rosso and Francesca 'Frankie' De Sota mean anything to you?" Even more guilt rushed to their faces, "Yeah, that's what I thought." Dani added as she pulled the edition of The New York Times out of her jacket pocket, "Apparently, Monty knows how to apply a pretty mean Full Nelson." She unfolded the newspaper and held it in front of her so that her parents could see it, "I thought you said that you got that scar from Appendicitis surgery, daddy." A half-smile of anger from being lied to crept onto her face, "Cat got your tongue?" She asked.

"Danielle!" Both of her parents said in shock.

"What?" Dani asked, "You can not lecture me about that. I have a right to be angry. You lied to me and my brothers. My coach could have been killed, the knife actually went into his stomach." Dani took a deep breath to keep from crying, "You know how the doctors found that out? The blood and stomach acid that was on my hand from trying to keep Coach from bleeding to death." Dani took a deep breath so that she didn't go hysterical on herself, "Where is everyone? I know that you brought Alec, Cami, Caleb, and Felix with you. Where are they?"

"They're with Dean and the Ducks back at the Ice Rink." Alyssa said.

Dani nodded, "Then you should go." Dani said, "I'll be there in a minute. I wanted to get a little alone-time practice in, but I can do that after a little visiting."

"Are you sure?" Kal asked.

"Why not? It's something to do, and Tammy, Gia, and I have a couple of days off at the moment." Kal and Alyssa smiled and waved as they walked away. Dani didn't really want anyone to ask her questions about what happened and she planned to make that fact perfectly clear. She refolded the newspaper and stuffed it back in her pocket. As she did so, Dani saw a flash of familiar dark blonde hair that framed a familiar face, "Jamie Banks... I thought that you never wanted come back here." Dani joked.

Jamie came out from behind a tree, "Yeah, well, I had to come and make sure that my dear brother and sister hadn't been driven crazy by our lovely father." Dani noticed distaste in Jamie's speech when he talked about his father.

"Um, Jamie?" Dani asked as Thalia, Ava, Cara, Rob, and two people that Dani could only think were Cara and Thalia's father and younger sister walked up behind him, "Introductions to those that I've never met?"

Jamie looked behind himself, "Oh right, Dani this is Hai-Chao Li, Thalia and Cara's father, and this is Michaela, their younger sister."

Dani held out her hand, "It's a pleasure to meet you two." Both of them shook her hand.

"I saw you in Las Vegas." Michaela said, "I think you did a very good job keeping your cool while dealing with a very uncultured and closed minded man with no apparent appreciation for sports."

"How old are you?" Dani asked dumbfounded.

"11 in two weeks." Michaela replied.

Dani chuckled, "You young children and your vocabulary. When I was 11, I was content with saying something like 'nitwit' or 'moron'. I like your take on things." Michaela looked flattered.

"Who do you know that is her age that talks like that?" Rob asked, "If thereare more then her, I need to hide under a rock."

"That's just because you're a moron with no vocabulary." Thalia shot back in a pseudo-sweet voice. Cara and Ava agreed.

"Gee, thanks a million, guys." Rob replied.

Dani laughed, "Actually, I know several girls with vocabularies like Michaela's. Monica, Ana, and Becky for example."

"Becky?" Jamie asked, "Monica told me about Ana, but who is Becky?"

"She's a friend of theirs." Dani replied, "She also happens to be your brother's and my brother's hockey coach's daughter." Jamie nodded, "But I have to go up to the Ice Rink, and the Ducks should be there. Want to come?"

Jamie nodded. As everyone started walking, Jamie spoke up, "Speaking of the Ducks, my brother in particular, how are things going between you two?"

Smiling coyly, Dani asked, "What do you mean?"

"You know what he means." Ava said. Dani knew that all of them had been cheering her and Adam one from the get go.

Sighing, Dani replied, "Good, things were going good. That was, until he dumped me."

Jamie stopped walking, "He... what?" Jamie managed to choke out. Dani nodded, "Oh, I am going to kill him."

"When you find a way to do that, tell me so I can use it on my brother." Dani replied, "It is partly his fault that Adam broke up with me." A questioning look flashed in Jamie's eyes, "It's a long story." Dani said as she pulled the door to the Ice Rink open. As she stepped in, Dani saw Monica, Ana, and Becky arguing with a girl that Dani had a sneaking suspicion was the one that they hated more then anything, "That must be Ruth." Dani said to herself, "This could be bad."

"What could be bad?" Cara asked.

Dani's eyes widened as Ruth brought back her fist and punched Monica in the mouth. Monica retaliated by pouncing on her, "Oh yeah, it's bad." Dani said, "Monica!" Jamie looked in the direction that Dani had just run and followed suit. He was glad that he had long legs, it made it easier to get to his pissed off sister. Jamie pulled Monica off of the girl, who continued to fight until someone pulled her away.

"Reily." Dani said.

"That was completely unprovoked." Rick said as he held onto his struggling younger cousin.

"Unprovoked?" Dani asked indignantly, "I clearly remember seeing Ruth punch Monica in the mouth. Trust me, I ain't blind." Rick sneered, "Look, Rick. I have no problem punching a gay man holding onto a 10 year old." Ruth gaped at what this girl had called her 'manly older cousin', "So get gone."

"Rick isn't gay." Ruth snapped.

Dani laughed sourly, "Keep thinking that, sweet cheeks." She said, "Get gone, this isn't your school anymore." Rick pulled Ruth away as Dani waved, "Come on, guys. I have some ice packs in my classroom." Becky and Ana followed the group as Jamie still held onto a furious Monica.

"What was that?" Jamie asked.

"Ruth." Monica said with venom in her voice. Jamie looked at her confused and Dani shook her head, Monica and Ruth would be enemies until the day they died. Dani opened the door to the makeshift classroom and let Jamie bring Monica in first, and everyone else went after them. When she finally entered the room she was not surprised to see all of the Ducks, Piper, her parents, and her brothers sitting there will Tammy.

"Hey, Dani." Tammy said, "How are you?"

"Fantastic." Dani said as she walked over to the mini refrigerator in the corner of the room and pulled out an ice pack.

"Are you sure?"

"Tams, I really don't want to talk about it." She replied in a firm, yet monotonous tone of voice. As she turned around, Dani noticed that Caleb was eying Becky with great interest. Dani shuttered, trying to keep the thought out of her mind, as she handed Monica the ice pack. Monica mumbled a thanks and placed it over her mouth.

Charlie sat up straight, "Hey, Dani?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you dating Gunnar Stahl?"

Dani raised her eyebrows, "No. What idiot gave you that idea?" Her eyes flicked to Adam for a nanosecond, but no one noticed. She knew that he would tell at least Charlie and Guy about seeing her at dinner with Gunnar.

Charlie's eyes flicked around a little, "The news."

Dani shook her head, "That would have been slightly believable if you hadn't looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar." Charlie opened his mouth to protest, "I have no doubt that it has been in the news that I have been out to dinner with him, because I have, but that doesn't mean that we're dating. Besides, Gala is with us all the time."

Monica nodded, "Like at the Radisson. She showed up right after someone left in a huff." Monica plopped in the nearest seat and Dani couldn't help smile. She knew that Monica was talking about Adam, who was turning red as he lowered his head so that it was as if he was enthralled with his belly button.

The door creaked open and Dani smiled even bigger, "Leah, you're a dream."

"I know." Leah said as she looked at her best friend, "Dan, please tell me that you are finished skating, because you don't look like it and you still have to make me up."

"Le, chill." Dani said, "I just got here, but I will do your make up before skating. The date is in half an hour, that gives us plenty of time."

"Leah has a date?" Dean asked, "Who?"

Leah and Dani smiled to each other, both thinking the same thing, "Gunnar Stahl." They said simultaneously. Dean looked from one to the other and began banging his head on a desk. His parents each placed a hand on his head to stop him, causing everyone to try and hold in their laughter at the situation.


	45. Kisses

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** I had figured that the last few chapters needed a little bit of explaining, so I am glad that a lot was explained with the last chapter. I am hope that everyone feels the same way. Thanks for letting me know that my plan of explanation worked.

**Tinkerbell821-** First of all, you being satisfied makes me satisfied. If you really _demand _another chapter, perhaps you can demand in a quite way... Or not, your choice. Secondly, this story is really your favorite Mighty Ducks fic? Really? Wow! That is really mind blowing and I thank you on very many levels.

A big thanks to Soccer-Bitch!

(--------)

After all of the events and stress of the last week and a half, Dani was more then ecstatic to get time alone with Leah, Eve, and Doe. Eve and Doe had arrived three days after Dani had seen her parents, but she hadn't seen Leah more then 10 minutes at since she had been out on her date with Gunnar. It was like the girl was glued to him and vice versa. Not that Dani could fault them, though, Leah deserved some happiness in her life, particularly because of her bitchy step-aunt and cousin that she was forced to live with.

"So, Le?" Dani asked, sipping on an iced tea, "How are the bitch monster from hell and Satan?"

Leah laughed, "Phyllis and Nevaeh are perfectly fine." Dani couldn't help but laugh out in awe of the irony that the most evil and demonic child that she had ever met had a name that was 'Heaven' spelled backwards, "The last thing that Phyllis said to me was 'Where the hell are my damn cigs, you lazy whore'. She's one to talk, considering she won't take the time to buy her own cigarettes and she always out until three in the morning."

"Leah, I thought that Phyllis was 45. And I know that she looks no where near as good as Mrs. Portman." Doe said. Leah nodded, "Does she wear those hoochie shorts and halter tops?" Leah shook her head, "Oh, that's good."

"Actually, she wears micro mini skirts, tub tops, and costume jewelry." Leah said.

"Okay, that was more then I cared to know." Doe replied as he shuttered.

"Well, I hate to take this conversation in a different direction," Eve broke in, "Oh, wait, no I don't. But anyways, my father is having a couple of really high-end couples coming from out east for a couple of weeks over the summer. I have to show their daughters around..."

"Why are they coming?" Dani asked.

"Something to do with a big project that the company is doing." Eve explained, "He said that this could make the company, so I won't be able to do anything the week that they are there."

Leah opened her mouth to console Eve, as everyone that she had meet during her father's business ventures were considerably dull, but she stopped when something else caught her eye, "Guys, have you noticed that that guys eye's haven't moved. Even though he's reading?"

"Gee, that was random." Dani exclaimed.

"What guy?" Doe asked.

All of the girls rolled their eyes, "You man whore." They said, causing Doe to laugh sarcastically in their direction. Leah, however, pointed towards a bench that was just out of earshot. On the bench was a tall, skinny, and lanky young man that didn't look much older then themselves. He had dark brown hair that contrasted beautifully with his pale skin. Even though he was a fair way aways, they could still see his bright and shining green eyes staring intently at one spot on the page that he was attempting to read, while nervousness read on his face like a Dr. Seuss book to anyone with the concept of what a rhyme was.

"He's hot..." Doe said, but was cut off by the young man's eye's flicking upward as he was approached by a girl that was fairly short, but not too short, with blond hair. The young man quickly put his book down and pulled the girl in for a loving embrace and a passionate kiss, "Damn! All the good ones are either straight or unavailable! And this one's both!"

"I thought you had someone." Dani said, recalling her first conversation with Doe in front of the Ducks.

Doe shrugged, "He wasn't my type. He was into steroids and all that jazz because he wanted to get into some random college of another. Plus, he was really obsessive and had rancid halitosis."

Dani felt a small smile tug at the edge of her lips as the other girls had the same look on their faces. She looked over at the couple again and smile largely, but her smile drooped as the man let the girl go and her face was revealed, "Holy crap!" Dani and Leah whispered at the same time, "Gala!" The duo rushed to find something to cover their faces with, and sighed happily as the found a large newspaper, "I thought Gunnar said that their father didn't allow Gala to date anyone." Leah whispered while Eve and Doe looked on in massive confusion.

"That was my understanding." Dani replied, "I guess he doesn't know. I figure Gunnar doesn't either." Suddenly a light bulb went off in Dani's head, "Although it does explain a few things."

"Like what?" Leah asked.

"Like where she went so quickly after picking me up from the hospital after my attack, and why she's been scampering off all the time." Dani replied.

"What the bloody hell are you two talking about?" Eve asked.

Dani and Leah sighed, "We'll tell you later." They whispered in unison.

"Women..." Doe said, "People wonder why I'm gay."

"Shut up, Doe." Leah said, "I don't know if I can keep this from Gunnar. I can't keep secrets that well."

"We know..." Dani replied. "You're a blabbermouth." She added with Doe and Eve. Leah stuck her tongue out at them and Dani laughed. She immediately quited down and pulled the newspaper closer to hers and Leah's faces when Gala and her guy walked passed them.

Dani sighed, "I have a feeling that Gala isn't as Ice Princess-y as she acts."

Leah nodded, "And something tells me that she doesn't really have a problem disobeying daddy's orders. Is it just me, or does she look really happy with that guy?"

"It's not just you." Eve said, "I don't even know what's going on, and I can see that that was one of the most caring couples that I've seen in a long time."

"Just like Dani and Adam." Leah piped in.

"How in the hell did Adam and I get into this?" Dani asked deadpanned.

"If you don't know then you aren't ready too." Doe replied.

Dani scoffed, "Oh, shut up." She snapped, "He broke up with me, so can we get off of the subject, please?"

(-------)

It was one of the rare times that Becky had no one around to bother her or something of that sort, so she was going take advantage of it as much as she could. Don't get her wrong, she didn't want to stay away from everyone all the time, but she needed time to herself at the moment. She decided that the best place to get away would be the Figure Skater's classroom, as no one was occupying it at the moment and it wasn't down a flight of stairs. She wasn't sure how long she was going stay all alone, but she didn't want to think about that just yet. Pulling out her favorite book, Phantom of the Opera, Becky leaned leaned back as much as possible and tried to forget about everything, just as she had done ever since becoming paralyzed.

After about 15 minutes, Becky became aware of a figure standing in the doorway, wondering whether he should come in or not, "Are you just going to stand there? This is a free country."

"I didn't know if it would bother you or not." He replied.

Becky turned, "Like I said, free country." She knew that she sounded a little mean, but she didn't mean to. That was the way that she sounded sometimes, particularly when she had had a bad time at her physical therapy sessions.

"Let me guess," The boy said, "bad time at PT?" Becky raised her eyebrows in astonishment, "My sister had a hard time with health when she was young. Once she fell so hard on the ice during practice that she broke her leg in four places; another time she tripped over my brother's hockey puck on the stairs and smashed her arm through the window and she had to had therapy to get all of the feeling and ability back. I know what it's like to be put through that kind of thing, so just tell me if you want to be left alone."

Becky smiled, "No, that's okay." She put her book on her lap and extended her hand, "Becky Orion."

The boy took her hand and shook it, "Caleb Portman." He said as he dropped her hand, rather reluctantly.

"So you're Dani's brother?" Caleb nodded, "When did she break her leg?"

Caleb sighed in thought, "I think it was about 7 years ago. I was only 3, but I remember her being really scared that she wouldn't be able to walk right again. And it was only 2 years later, just 5 months after she finished her physical therapy for her leg, that she tripped on Dean's hockey puck."

"Wow, I never knew that Dani went through that." Becky replied.

Caleb shrugged, "Dani's like that. She doesn't want people to know because she hates getting peoples pity."

"I can understand that," Becky replied, "I hate getting it too."

"So she doesn't really talk about it."

Becky nodded, "Did she ever get the 'it seems that there are too many injuries to fully heal' speech?" Caleb cringed and nodded, "I hate that."

"Dani just told them to shut their pie holes when they started to give that speech." Caleb replied, "She pretty much refused to believe that she would never skate again; she loved doing it to much."

Becky sighed, "So all I have to do is think about something that I love to do that I can't do unless I have movement in my legs and let that motivate me?"

"Pretty much." Caleb said, nodding, after he faked thinking for a moment. Becky laughed, "So, just think about yourself, not the doctors."

"Thanks." Becky said, looking him in the eyes for the first time. He was like a mini-clone of his older brothers, but they all had a different sparkles to their eyes. The oldest, who Dani had introduced to her as Alec, had a brainy look in his eye that was completed when he wore his glasses, which was any time except when he was working out or playing one sport or another. Dean had a cocky twinkle in his eye, but this was no surprise as he had a grin to match. Felix, only being two years old, had that adorable innocence that was portrayed thought his eyes that could melt someone even if they wanted to be mad at him. Caleb, however, just seemed interested. Becky didn't know how to describe it, but it was like he never stopped doing anything for fear of not knowing... If that made any sense at all.

What Becky didn't know was that Caleb was interested in her, but he wasn't quite sure why, considering he was 10 and had his whole life to think about girls. _'Ah, who cares!' _Caleb asked himself as he took a huge risk and placed his lips gently on Becky's.

To Caleb's immense surprise, Becky didn't slap him... Actually, she didn't pull away at all! He figured that it was confusion that caused this reaction, he was confused himself. At least it had happened, and that was a... "HOLY SHIT!" A voice screamed, causing Caleb and Becky to simultaneously pull back.

"Dani!" Caleb exclaimed as he looked over towards the door and his older sister, "Hi." Dani was speechless, just staring at the scene in front of her with a mortified expression on her face.

"I should be going." Becky said, rolling her chair away with a solitary glance back to Caleb before turning back around, biting her lip in a smile. This expression didn't calm Dani, it just made her even more confused... And she hated being confused.

After watching Becky leave, Caleb turned to his sister and smiled in an attempt to make seem funny, "Hey, Dani. Guess what? I broke Dean's record."

"I can see that." Dani replied through clenched teeth.

(-------)

All of the Ducks had decided to stay at Adam that night, except for Julie and Connie, who were staying with Piper across the street. At the moment, they were all sitting in the Banks' back yard, not doing anything in particular. That was, until Dani came storming into the vicinity being followed by a rather frightened looking Caleb, "Sit down." She snapped in a whisper as she snapped her fingers and pointed at the chair nearest to the cluster of Ducks.

"Dani?" Dean asked as she came closer with a pained smile on her face.

"Dean." Dani said, "I would like to inform you that your record has been broken." Dean's eyes widened as what Dani said penetrated his brain. He looked over at his younger brother and furrowed his eyebrows.

"With who?" He asked, deadpanned.

Dani chuckled, "She's ten, lives here, and we know her."

Dean was momentarily confused, but decided to take the time to work out whatever Dani was thinking. It couldn't have been Monica, she was inside and had been all day. Nor could it have been Ana, because she was in New Mexico. One name popped into his head that he couldn't shake, "Dan... Please, please, _please_ tell me that it wasn't Becky..." Dean looked to Dani, who looked to Caleb with a you-better-be-the-one-to-explain-this look on her face. Dean, however, got the message loud and clear, "You little freak!" Dean yelled as he lunged at his brother, being pulled back by Fulton and Dani, "You made out with my Coach's daughter?" He asked indignantly.

"I didn't make out with her." Caleb protested, "I just kissed her. It's not like I was thinking about the record anyway."

"What were you thinking about?" Dean asked.

"She's cute."

"You're 10!" Dean and Dani replied in unison.

"So." Caleb replied, "It's not like it was Dean's record to begin with. Dani, your first kiss was when you were 5!" Adam felt his jaw drop as Dani's face turned bright red.

"It was Kenoi and we were 'married'." Dani snapped back.

"Married?" The Ducks asked in shock.

Dani shook her head, "Not really married... You know how little kids do that, they pretend that they are married and stuff. That's what we did."

"Uh-huh." Adam said, completely confused. He hadn't intended to say that out loud, so when Dani stared at him, he recoiled a little.

"Adam Banks!" A female voice that sounded very Jamaican called from the doorway as the women came closer.

"Yes, Claribel?"

A plump young women stopped in front of the group, "Has your mother been unhappy lately?"

"I don't know." Adam said, "Why?"

"Because she has been rearranging my refrigerator." Claribel replied tartly as she stomped back into the house.

Dani smiled, "If a rearranged refrigerator was my biggest problem, then I would be on top of the world."


	46. Truthfully?

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** Yeah, it was kind of cute, wasn't it? But, it's not only Dean that Becky and Caleb's 'relationship' could cause complications for. Dani could be affected as well because, if anyone forgets, her coach is Becky's uncle. I wonder how that would work out? Thanks for reviewing!

**Tinkerbell821-** I love going camping! Even if it is in the rain. I sincerely hope that you has fun on your trip. I am glad that you were so excited to see the last update when you got home and that it warmed you to the core after being in the rain. Thanks!

A big THANK YOU is due to mickEmousina!

(--------)

Very few times in his life had Ted Orion found himself so worried and twitchy and fidgety that he couldn't work, even at 8:30 in the morning. But ever since the attack on his brother and Dani, he found that that was the way that he felt. He threw his pen onto his desk and stalked out of his office to try and find something to preoccupy himself with. Knowing that Becky was around somewhere, he decided to try and find her and offer to take her to get ice cream.

Stepping out of his office and walking up the stairs to find Becky, Ted was shocked, and ecstatic, to see his brother sitting in a wheelchair while being fawned over by an obviously hysterical Joey. Ted couldn't make himself move as he watched the young women pace, mumble incoherently in French, and kneel next to Eric, asking if he needed anything. While the 12 year age difference still weired him out a little bit, he could tell that his brother truly cared about the young women and vise versa.

Noticing that Eric was rolling his eyes at Joey's current state of hysteria, Ted chuckled to himself and looked away as Eric grabbed Joey's arm and pulled her into a tender kiss. "Relax." He said, "I'm fine, I promise."

Joey sighed, "I know, I'm sorry." She said, a sob being held in very noticeable in her accented voice, "_Il est juste que je t'aime tellement. J'ai été effrayé._" **(French: It's just that I love you so much. I was scared.)**

Eric gently stroked her cheek with the back of his hand, "_Je t'aime, aussi._" **(French: I love you, too.)**, "But I'm fine. There is nothing to worry about." Joey kissed him again and hugged him carefully so that she didn't pull on his stitches. Once she pulled away, Eric called to the doorway that his brother was standing in, "Are you just going to stay there, or are you going to come in?"

Ted stumbled for a moment, he hadn't known that Eric knew that he was there, "Well, it was such a touching moment, I didn't want to interrupt." Eric rolled his eyes and chuckled.

"Joey, I don't think that I have ever introduced you to my brother, Ted." Joey shook her head, "Ted, this is Josephine Cartier, my girlfriend. Joey, this is Ted."

Joey held out her hand, "It is a pleasure to meet you." She replied, "Eric has told me much about your family. Becky is a beautiful girl."

"Thank you." Ted replied as he took a moment to look at her. She was average in height, only about 5 feet 5 inches, and she had a skinny-yet-toned figure skater's figure. Her skin was pale, but it didn't give her a sickly look; quite the contrary, it was very beautiful on her. Her face was heart shaped and she had sparkling gray eyes and plump lips; her face was framed by long, naturally bright blonde hair that was liberally streaked with red, "And speaking of Becky, have either of you seen her?"

Eric shook his head, "No. I was actually looking for her. I was hoping that you two would join Joey, Mathieu, and I for dinner tonight."

"We'd love too." Ted replied, "Just as soon as we find her." As if on cue, the door to the outside opened and three girls entered, followed by a very familiar boy that none of them knew.

"Hi, daddy." Becky said, "Uncle Eric, you're okay!" She rolled her chair over to her uncle's and hugged him.

"Hi honey." Ted replied as he leaned down and hugged her, "Monica, Ana. Ana, when did you get back from New Mexico?"

"Last night." Ana said, "Mama didn't want me go out today, but I convinced her to let me." Ted nodded. He was ecstatic tenfold when he found out that Becky had finally made some friends. Both of the girls were nice and did well in school and seemed to genuinely want to be friends with his daughter; that was all that he asked. Now, who was the boy?

"Daddy?" Becky said, "This is Caleb." She said, indicating the boy, who held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you, sir." Caleb said, "Dean told everyone a lot about you."

"Dean?"

Caleb nodded, "Yeah, my brother." Then he turned his attention to Eric, "And because my parents aren't here to thank you and all that jazz, I will. Thanks for what you did for Dani, you saved her life, after all."

Eric nodded, "It was nothing."

"Getting stabbed in the stomach was nothing?" Caleb asked incredulously, "If you insist. At least the lunatic is going to jail." Just as he finished a sharp pain shot through his jaw and he raised his hands to his jaw.

"What's wrong?" Becky asked.

"Spacers." Caleb replied simply.

"Getting braces?" Monica asked; Caleb nodded. "Ouch."

"Tell me about it. Plus, Dean's horror stories don't help." At that moment, Caleb's watch started beeping, "Crud. I have to go or my parents will flip." He said, "Bye." He said, waving. While it seemed he was talking to everyone, the only one he really wanted to talk to was Becky...

(-------)

As a tea pot whistled, Dean pulled three sausage links, two scrambled egg in a holes, and a third of a small pan of hash brown potatoes out of their pans and onto a plate. He took the tea pot off of the stove and poured it into a medium sized cup with black tea bag sitting in it. Fulton placed the plate and cup onto a platter along with orange juice and pulled threw the tea bag away. He also pulled put two more plates and placed one scrambled egg in a hole on each, along with two sausage links each and a third of the hash browns on each. Dean placed two more glasses of orange juice on the platter.

Fulton picked up the platter, careful not to drop anything, while Dean took the extra plates for Fulton and himself. Several weeks after her attack, Bethany Reed had been released from the hospital, and ever since, Dean and Fulton had been doing everything that they could to help her until she full healed. That included making her breakfast on a weekend basis, while friends of Bethany's helped her during the week.

One person in particular that Fulton noticed was looking after his mother was her co-worker, Forrest Kowalski. Fulton had known for the longest time that the suave and handsome doctor harbored feelings for his mother, and at first he was very reluctant to let their relationship go beyond being friends. But ever since his mother had been attacked, Fulton started to feel differently. Forrest had been there for her since she was hurt, he personally oversaw every medical treatment that Bethany was given to make sure that she was given the utmost care possible. Maybe it wouldn't be that bad if she started dating that doctor?

"Mom?" Fulton asked through the door.

"Come in." Bethany replied. Fulton pushed the door open with his foot and Dean closed it with his when he walked his, "Oh, breakfast."

"That it is, Mrs. Reed." Dean said as Fulton placed the plater over her lap and pulled off his and Dean's orange juice, "Enjoy." He added as he handed Fulton his plate and took his own orange juice.

Bethany sighed as she picked up one of the egg in a holes, "Thank you, boys."

"Mom?" Fulton asked.

"Yes, sweetie?"

Fulton took a deep breath, "Do you like Doctor Kowalski?"

Bethany raised her eyes, "Of course I do. I like all of my co-workers."

Fulton shook his head, "No, I mean do you _like _him? As in, are you attracted to him?"

Bethany looked shocked for a moment, dropped her egg in a hole, and cast her gaze downward, "Fulton, honey..."

"Mom, it's okay if you do." Fulton admitted, albeit hesitantly, "I mean, he's smart, relatively attractive, and he makes fairly ridiculous amounts of money... Plus he likes you and he seems like a nice guy." Dean raised his eyebrows, this was a part of his best friend that he hadn't seen before.

"Honey." Bethany said as she leaned forward slightly and hugged her son. Dean smiled; Fulton had no problem with the man that had a crush on his mother, while his father was in jail for attempted murder and assault. There was nothing that could make their lives better.

That was, until the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it." Dean offered. He placed his plate and glass of orange juice on his chair and left towards the front room. Wiping his hands on his jeans, Dean thought about what was going on between the mother and son in the other room. That was all that he was thinking about... Until he opened the door. Standing there were two girls, obviously twins, with blonde hair and blue/green eyes. One of them had on sweatpants, a hooded sweatshirt and tennis shoes, while the other had on slim jeans, a detailed long sleeve shirt, a long jacket, and tennis shoes.

"Hi." The girl in the sweatpants and sweatshirt said. Dean couldn't help but notice that she had a very slight southern twang to her voice, "Are Bethany and Fulton here?" Dean nodded.

"Can we see them?" The other girl asked. Dean nodded again and moved out of the way, "Thank you." Dean closed the door as the second girl that had spoken pulled off her jacket and hung it on the hook next to the door.

Dean motioned for them to follow him as he led them to Bethany's room. Knocking on the door, he waited for Bethany to allow him in, "Bethany, Fult, you two have visitors." He said as he moved aside and let the girls in. He was shocked to see Fulton and Bethany's jaws drop.

"Aunt Bethany!" The first girl said, "Fulton." Fulton and Bethany remained silent and shell-shocked, "You know what, T.J?" She said to her sister, "I think it's brother sandwich time."

"You know what, D.J." T.J. replied, "I think you're right!" With that, both girls raced to Fulton and pulled him into a gigantic hug.

"T.J?" Fulton asked, "D.J?" Both girls nodded as they let go and carefully hugged Bethany, noticing her injured stomach.

"Is anyone going to explain what happened?" D.J. asked Bethany.

"Here's a wacky notion." Dean said, "Someone explain who the hell you two are."

"Portman, these two are D.J. Jeffreys and T.J. Jeffreys." Fulton said, "There my sisters." Dean raised his eyebrows, "Well, technically, they are my half sisters. Same dad..."

"Oh." Dean said simply, "Why did I not know that you had sisters?"

Fulton shrugged, "How come I didn't know that you had three brothers and a sister?" He retorted.

T.J. and D.J. snickered, but went back to the subject they wanted to know about, "Aunt Bethany, what happened?" D.J. asked.

"Dorian." Bethany replied bitterly.

"Are you serious?" T.J. said. Bethany nodded, as well as Fulton, "Oh, my god."

(-------)

Sitting on a bench just outside of her dorm building, Dani was waiting for Gala to show up. Just after seeing Gala and her guy in the park, she was more then curious about who said guy was, so she called Gala and asked her to meet her at her dorm. This way they could get away from any unwanted attention, press wise or anything else.

"Dani?" Gala's voice sounded through the icy wind. Dani stood and turned to face Gala as she came, "What was so important that you wanted to talk to me about."

Dani smiled, "Hey Gala. I was wondering, where were you yesterday around, say, 2:45?"

Gala raised her eyebrows, as if she was confused, "That's all you want to know?" Dani nodded, "I believe I was just leaving practice and going back to the hotel."

"Really?" Dani asked, "So you weren't with an absolutely gorgeous guy in a park and kissing him like there was no tomorrow?" She raised her eyebrows as Gala started to look panicked, "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone."

"Thank you." Gala whispered in relief.

"So, would you mind telling me who said gorgeous guy is?" Dani asked jokingly.

"You really want to know?" Gala asked. Dani nodded quickly, "He is my boyfriend. His name is Sindri Hallbjorn."

"But I thought that your father didn't like you dating." Dani replied.

Gala shook her head, "He doesn't. He does not know that Sindri and I are dating. Sindri cleans that rink that I practice at and he used to play hockey with Gunnar until Gunnar went to the Junior Goodwill Games. My father thinks that anyone with less money with us is not as good as us. If he ever found out that Sindri and I were together, he would never let me see him again. If he had too, he would make Sindri lose his job."

"Oh my God." Dani said.

"I can not even tell Gunnar." Gala said, "And it kills me that I can't. But, I love Sindri and I know that if Gunnar finds out, then my father will find out." Tears dripped down Gala's delicate cheeks as she continued, "Sindri does not care if I win gold or not. He loves me for me. All my father loves is what ever can get him noticed and what gets him more money. He would never understand why I love someone who works hard to get money and doesn't make others work for him."

"Others?" Dani asked, "Others like you and Gunnar?"

Gala nodded, "When he found out that Iceland lost the Junior Goodwill Games, he was furious." She sniffled and wiped another tear off of her face, "He hit Gunnar so hard that I cried. Gunnar couldn't, it would be showing weakness in father's eyes. He still has those marks. They are all over his back." Gala took a deep breath before continuing, "Whenever I do something that father sees as unacceptable he yells at me and slaps me in the face. Sindri is always there for me, to comfort me."

"It looks like you and Gunnar got the short end of the stick." Dani said, "I'm sorry."

Gala turned quickly towards Dani. Her tears were gone and fire replaced it in her eyes, "You can not tell anyone! Please. You have to promise me that you will not tell anyone that you saw Sindri and I together. If you tell anyone, I know that my father will find out."

"I promise." Dani said, placing her hands on Gala's shoulders, "You have my word that no one will find out about you two from me." Gala sighed in thanks, "You're lucky, though. You found a guy that loves you and is willing to risk anything to be with you." Gala chuckled and nodded. She turned and began walking away, "Where are you going?" Dani called.

"Where do you think?" Gala said with a light laugh.


	47. Hello?

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(------)

**Tinkerbell821-** I like the rain too. Unless it's the cold and winter almost snow kind. I suppose that it would be funny to see your father's tent flood... I would love to see something like that happen. Thanks for the review.

Thank you PrincessH!

(-------)

For what seemed like the millionth time in the school year so far, all of the Ducks gathered in the dorm room of one of their teammates. This time it was Dwayne and Goldberg's room. They were all talking about some random thing or another when a loud crash brought their attention elsewhere, "Oh, it wasn't that heavy!" Max's voice called from his room across the hall. The Ducks raced out into the hall and saw that Max was on the floor, covered in his belongings while Alec stood... He had been the one to drop the box.

"Look you little..." Alec began.

"Ahem." A cold female voice said from behind him as the sound of fingernails being tapped against the wall hit their ears, "Be nice to my little brother." Cami said as she held out her hand and pulled Max to his feet.

"Ow." Max said as his things dropped as he stood, "It really wasn't that heavy." He said sourly.

"Yo!" Dean said, "What's going on?"

Max turned and sighed, "Remember when I told you that the minute I turned 18 Sir and Amanda were going to kick me out?" Dean nodded, "Well, they decided not to wait. So, I am going back up to Chicago... Apparently you have a guest room now."

Dean's eyes widened, "Mom and Dad finally got the basement finished, with everything that has been going on?" Alec nodded, "That's informative." Dean sighed.

"Don't piss me off today." Alec warned.

"You really need to chill out once and a while." Dani said as she came from out of no where to her brother's side. She, however, wasn't looking at him. In her hand was one of Cami's sketch books, "Oh, God... Averman the Duck. I don't know how you come up with these things, Cam."

"Well, they are the Ducks." Cami replied, "I figured, if I was going to do portraits of them all, then I should do them as actual ducks." Dani nodded.

"Um... Hello." Averman said from the group, "I want to see." Dani laughed and turned the sketch book around and revealed a Duck in a hockey uniform with curly red hair who was wearing large glasses, just like the real Averman. The look on the Duck Averman's face was exactly something that they would expect to see on the real Averman.

"We want to see ours." Dean said about himself and Fulton. Everyone agreed and circled around Dani. Averman's picture was first, so Dani didn't have to go back to any. She flipped the page and saw that the next picture was Adam. His Duck had a button up shirt under his hockey pads, clearly indicating that he was the preppy. His face was clearly Adam; Dani was really amazed at how good Cami was at capturing what she wanted to when she drew... Her preferred job route would take advantage of this as she wanted to be a tattoo artist. Dani knew who would be giving Dean his first tattoo when he turned 18.

(-------)

Exactly a week later, it was school again. The first day to be precise. At the end of the day, Dean lugged his filled hockey bag out of the locker room with the other members of his team. They were chatting happily when they noticed Dean Buckley walking around looking rather distraught.

"Dean Buckley?" Charlie said as the walked up to the older man, "You seem upset." He added, trying to seem concerned.

"No, no." Dean Buckley replied, "Not upset."

"Well, you seem worried." Ken added.

Dean Buckley shook his head again, "I'm fine." No one was convinced and he knew it, "Well, we have a very large gift coming from a large company in Atlanta that we will receive only if pass a rather detailed inspection."

"And the inspectors have come to inspect." Russ quipped with amusement in his voice.

"Yes." Dean Buckley replied, "The President and CEO of the company sent their twin granddaughters as the inspectors. They said that they only trust the girls to make a correct assessment of their 'investments'." He shifted nervously at the thought of what the girls would tell their grandparents. Fulton immediately thought about what Dean Buckley was talking about. Mr. and Mrs. David Jeffreys, T.J. and D.J.'s grandparents, were the President and CEO (respectively) of a large company in Atlanta, Georgia and he knew that his sisters were very business minded and savvy and could make people squirm on occasion. If his thinking was going in the correct direction, the his two Minnesotan Georgia Peaches were at Eden Hall.

"Now you see." A disembodied and Southern accented voice said, "I don't understand why he can't get it through his skull that I don't want him." D.J. came through the door, followed closely by T.J., who was cleaning her glassed with a small cloth, and continued, "I want a cowboy to ride off into the sunset with... On separate horses, of course. I am not a damsel in distress." So, Fulton's thinking was correct... This was going to be good.

T.J. walked right up to Dean Buckley, "We've just finished our inspection and evaluation of your lovely facility." Fulton tried not to laugh, it was squirm time, "Our grandparents will call you when we have given them our full report and opinions. They think _very _highly of our opinions." Dean Buckley tried not shutter as he nodded, "So, they will talk to you then."

D.J. nodded and turned to Fulton, "By the way." She said before she had fully turned to face him, "We need to meet you're girlfriend." Dean Buckley turned his head so quickly in Fulton's direction Fulton was sure that the elder man should have whiplash.

"Why?" Fulton asked with horror on his face.

"Because you're our brother and we love you." T.J. replied while pinching him on his cheeks.

Fulton swatted her hands away, "Or you're just trying to be a couple of huge pains in my ass." He muttered.

Looks of shock slipped onto the girls faces as they held their hands to their chest in a manner the showed that they were deeply offended. Dean Buckley looked on in horror at the interaction between the siblings. After a moment, however, D.J. smiled and said, "Well, yes, but we want to meet her anyway."

"Mom likes her." He replied quietly.

"Then there is no reason why we shouldn't like her as well." T.J. added with a smile on her face, "Bethany always did have such a great judge of character."

A door slammed open and closed and Dean seized a wonderful opportunity that had just presented itself, "Speak of the devil." He said as he gripped Tammy's arm and thrust her into his best friend, "T.J., D.J., this is Tammy. Tammy, these are Fulton's sisters."

Tammy sighed, "First of all," She slapped him hard on the arm, making him recoil in pain, "don't _ever _do that again. And second of all... What?" Tammy racked her brain and remembered when Fulton told her about T.J. and D.J., but didn't he want her to meet them? Wouldn't he have told her that they were in town so that she could?

"I like her already." D.J. said, "She's spunky, pretty, and she can handle herself." T.J. nodded in agreement.

"Um... Thank you." Tammy replied uncertainly.

"And she's polite." T.J. added. Then as what seemed like an after thought, she said, "An added plus, they're so different. I like that 'opposites attract' thing. It's so... Fire inducing." Fulton rubbed his eyes with the middle finger and thumb of his right hand. It was just like them to say something like that. Tammy was no doubt more confused then she had ever been in her life, "Fulton, you should bring Tammy to dinner on Saturday... We'll be able to get to know each other better." Tammy nodded to Fulton in agreement, wanting to understand what the heck was going on and why Fulton hadn't told her that his sisters were in town. Surely he had known that before hand...

"And, just a memo... We'll be at you're game on Friday." D.J. said, "So we'll see you then." She turned to the silently still Dean Buckley, "Enjoy you're day, Dean Buckley." Dean Buckley nodded uncomfortably, "Bye." She waved and she and her sister left.

Dean Buckley looked like he was going to be sick as Fulton waved goodbye to his sisters. He looked to Fulton, "Yup, those are my sisters. I must admit, they are honest to a fault. Nothing gets passed them. And they say everything they think." Once again, Dean Buckley held in a shutter. Dean forced himself to stay nice and quiet, but that was easier said then done. Dean Buckley stalked off to worry somewhere and the Ducks bombarded Fulton.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You have sisters?" Charlie asked, "Not to mention twins? How come none of us knew about that?"

"It never came up." Fulton said in an attempt to defend himself.

"You never told me that they came into town." Tammy said, a little sour, "Didn't you want me to meet them?"

"Of course I did." Fulton replied, "But I didn't think about it. Plus I didn't know how long they were staying." They left the building, various Ducks still shooting remarks at Fulton, but he ignored them.

(-------)

Dani sighed and looked at her watch, it was 7:30 at night. She had been waiting for hour and a half for Gala and she had no idea why! Gala had called Dani at 2:00 in the morning and had asked her to meet her at a little coffee shop just outside of town. Why? Dani didn't know, and she was getting just a little bitter.

As Dani sipped on her Black Mango Iced Tea, she stared at the door. It was getting late and if she was going to get back to Eden Hall without getting a lecture then she would have to leave... and soon, "Dani?" Well, it was about time.

"Gala." Dani sighed, "You said you'd be here and hour ago."

Gala nodded, "I know, I am sorry, but what I had to do took much more time then I anticipated that it would." Dani nodded and indicated to Gala to sit down, "I am sure that you wonder what I asked you here for."

"Just a little bit." Dani replied sourly. As she took another sip of her tea, the bell on the door tinkled, signaling the entrance of another person. Gala turned around and waved at the person to come and sit with her. Dani looked at the person and saw that it was Gala's boyfriend... Sindri, that was his name, and he looked very exasperated. He sat down next to Gala, muttering under his breath what Dani thought must be curses in Icelandic. She wasn't sure why she thought that, but it was what it sounded like, even though she didn't know any Icelandic.

"Nice to meet you." Dani said after a long moments wait, "Gala has told me absolutely nothing about you."

"It is good to meet you as well." He replied quietly, "She has told me a lot about _you_." Dani nodded in response and sipped her tea. His voice was like chocolate, sweet and soothing. Dani could tell that Gala was more nervous then either her or Sindri.

"Just so you know," Dani said to him, "I promise that I won't tell anyone about you two. And I never break my promises unless I know that if I don't then someone will get maimed or killed, and I don't see that happening."

"Thank you." Sindri replied.

"Not a problem." Dani said, "By the way, Gala, I was wondering how Gunnar was."

Gala scoffed, "The same way he has been since Leah left... Depressed and moping." She shook her head, "When you told me that you had the ability to get two people to go out, I didn't think that you had intended to do so with my brother."

Shaking her head, Dani laughed, "I hadn't actually intended for that to happen." She admitted, "Leah and Gunnar meet after you and he took me home from the hospital. She was visiting, obviously, and I asked her and Gunnar to entertain themselves while I gave my statement to the police. They did the rest on their own."

"Really?" Gala asked, "I didn't expect that. He has never been one for talking to girls... Actually, he has had to ask me to talk to the ones he liked for him. And then he always has to get father's permission."

"Wow, I am glad that my daddy trusts me and my brothers..." Dani replied.

"You're lucky." Sindri said to her as he leaned over and kissed Gala on her cheek.

"I know."


	48. Picture Time

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**Tinkerbell821-** Long awaited? That is an wonderful thing to hear... Or, in this case, read... Anyway, as for the Adam-and-Dani-ness that you crave, I get the ever-so subtle hint that you gave. I can not say if I will get them back together or not, you will just have to read and find out. I'm sorry if I am not going as fast as you would like with the updates, but I do do my best. Thank you for being patient.

**PrincessH-** I'm glad that you like the last chapter and thought that it was cute. I do try to do as well as possible on the Tammy/Fulton interaction. It seemed to me that any girl would want to meet her boyfriend's sisters. I am happy that you are interested in what happens next. That's what I try to do. Thanks!

(--------)

Dani munched on a White Cheddar flavored Rice Cake as she flipped through the mail that she had been sent. Mostly it was stuff from her uncles or cousins or some of her fans wishing her well... The thing that really caught her eye was the teeny lime green box that had long since become her godmother's signature packaging. Throwing her Rice Cake on the cabinet, Dani picked up the tiny box and tore off the tape that kept the box closed with much gusto; what ever Jeannette sent her was defiantly going to be good.

Once she opened the box, Dani became confused. There was nothing in it but a small folder of pictures. She pulled out the folder and flipped through it, confusing her even more. All of the pictures were of a little baby with massive amounts of light blonde hair, the same color as Jeannette's natural color. She turned the photo over and read 'Damian Piers D'Argonto: born January 3rd, 2006. 6 lbs, 10 oz.'. Dani's jaw dropped as she turned the photo back over and looked at her godbrother. Sure, she was still surrounded by boys, but he was so cute. Thank goodness he already looked just like Jeannette and not Alan...

Practically bounding from her seat, Dani grabbed her jacket and left to try and find Dean. It was about dinner time so she was sure that she would find him a Mickey's with the rest of the Ducks, besides Fulton, who was having dinner with his mother, sisters, and Tammy. More then likely he was pining over Julie while he was only two feet away from her. Dani sighed, this was the guy that could get any girl he wanted, yet he pined over one of his best friends... It was like a in a movie or something.

As Dani ran towards Mickey's, she thought about what Dean would think. He would defiantly tease her about still 'being surrounded', as everyone affectionately called it, and she probably wouldn't get the picture back. Oh, well. She figured that was the reason that Jeannette had sent a lot. Mickey's came into sight and Dani sped up, practically throwing herself into the dining car. As she thought, near the end of the car was the Ducks, Charlie trying to convince his obviously pregnant mother to sit down for a minute, "Mom, please."

"No." Casey retorted to her son, "I'm due in April and I will be staying away from maternity leave for as long as possible."

Charlie sighed, causing Dani to laugh, "So, you basically have no chance of anything." She said, "Women are determined enough, but pregnancy is something that no man should mess with. They've done enough."

"Uh-huh." Casey replied in agreement.

"Hi Casey." An excited voice said as a very chipper teen raced passed, "You look great."

"Thank you, Merci." Casey replied, "But I look like a whale."

"No you don't, you look really good for 6 months along." Dani replied, "If you want to know someone that really looked like a whale, then talk to Leah. Her Aunt Phyllis was huge when she was pregnant with her daughter. Leah enjoyed Phyllis' complaining. Looks are basically everything to her."

"Yeah, plus she's just really creepy." Dean added.

"But, anyway." Dani said as she pulled Damian's picture out of her pocket and handed it to Dean. Dean looked at it and furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

"Who's is this?" Dean asked with shock dripping off of his voice.

"The picture or the baby?" Dani retorted sourly.

"Both."

Dani sighed, sometimes he really needed direction. It was very annoying, "Well, the picture is mine. As for the second part of the question, read the back, stupid." Dean cast her and evil gaze and turned the picture around, reading what was written. He had taken a sip of water and promptly choked on it when he read the writing, "Yeah."

"Holy crap." Dean said, "I'm keeping this."

"Yeah, I kinda figured."

(-------)

Gunnar Stahl sat alone in his hotel room, enthralled with a photograph of one beautiful young women from Chicago with blue/black hair and sharp hazel eyes. Leah Tracy was one of, if not the most, beautiful people that he had met in a while, and she had an inside to match. She was the nicest person that he had met in his life and she had a lot in common with him; a love of hockey, a crappy parental situation, few people in the world that she trust, and the massive burden of being very misunderstood.

As for her beauty, it was defiantly undeniable. Her hair was the most interesting thing that he had ever seen and she didn't care what anyone thought about it. Also, she was tough and she didn't care that it showed on her face, which was gorgeous what ever she was projecting. As for her body, it was amazing. Her legs, arms, back, and stomach were toned from her hockey but she still had her fair share of womanly curves. And he did rather appreciate them... Okay, he really needed to get her off of his mind or he was most defiantly going to lose what he had left of it.

Sighing, he laid back on his bed and continued to look at the picture. He had taken it of her when she had taken him on top of the building that Dani had been living in. It was a sunset and she looked absolutely beautiful with it behind her. She was looking out into space and he had taken his chance to get the picture he wanted of her. He believed with ever fiber of his being that had his father had not been sent Gala and him to the United States as early as he had then he would not have meet Dani who would not have introduced her to Leah. So, for once, his father had actually done something that had done him and Gala some good. Now, if he could figure out what was going on with his sister, then he would be as happy as possible.

As if on cue, Gala entered the room, "Where have you been?" He asked, sitting up from his lying down position.

"At practice, where do you think?" She asked.

"Gala, I know that there is something that you are keeping from me." He responded, "I thought that we could always tell each other everything. Please, I know that you would not tell me if it would get you in trouble with father, but you can trust me not to tell him."

"I don't have anything to say." Gala replied as she turned into the bathroom.

"Please." He said again as he grabbed onto Gala's arm, "Do you not trust me anymore?"

Gala looked shocked at what he said, "You know that that is not true." She replied as she pulled out of his grip and moved up to hug him, "You know that I trust you."

Gunnar sighed as he hugged her back, "I just don't understand why you can not tell me what it is that is going on."

"Okay." Gala replied, feeling guilt creep into her body, "I'll tell you what you want to know. What is it that you would like to know?"

(------)

It had been a long day at work for Philip Banks and he had been thankful to get home. He walked into his house and pulled off his jacket, placing it on the jacket hook next to the wall, "Corrine?" He called from the bottom of the stairs, "Are you home?" He didn't get an answer, which confused him. It was 7:30 and normally she would have been home about an hour ago, "Corrine?" Again no answer.

He walked into the kitchen and saw that she wasn't there and decided to check in their bedroom. Philip walked up the stairs and knocked on the bedroom door, "Corrine?"

"She's not here, Mr. Banks." Claribel said as he opened the door. She was dusting the armoire and there was a stack of clean clothes on the bed that she was going to put away next.

"Do you know where she is?"

"No, sir." Claribel replied, "She didn't tell me but she raced out about 45 minutes ago, so I think that she might be back soon." She placed her duster in her belt and placed the clothes away, "Good bye, Mr. Banks. I will see you tomorrow. I am not sure if you know, but Monica is staying at Ana's tonight."

"Thank you, Claribel." Philip replied as he watched the young women leave. She was a good women who did a lot for his family, yet it had just dawned on him that that was all that he knew about her. Oh, well. If she wanted him to know then she would tell him. Philip placed his briefcase on the chair next to the door of his bedroom and walked over to his wife's dresser.

He had noticed a familiar picture on the dresser that he hadn't seen in a long time. Picking up the picture, Philip couldn't help but smile. Corrine, in all her raven haired, 19 year old glory, was standing in the middle of two sisters that looked nothing alike. The sister on the left was her age, the younger of the two, with light brown hair and a look about her that suggested that she was the more serious of the two with her hair in a bun and her sweet smile. The other sister, however, had long dark brown, almost black, hair and she gave off what would be considered the feel of the essential party girl. Her smile was wild and wide, as if she was getting ready for a party the moment she finished having her picture taken. Come to think of it, she probably was.

The sisters were Virgina and Jennifer Foster. Virgina, or Ginny as she was better known, was the younger sister, while Jennifer, or Jen, was the older and much wilder sister. She was 3 years her sister's senior and had known Philip all of his life, being the same age as him and having very close families. As a matter of fact, he and Jen had dated for quite a long time before Ginny introduced Jen to Corrine, who introduced her to him when their relationship ended. It was Corrine who had finally settled him down after a youth of rebellion and trying to not conform to his father's ideals; a path that gave him a lot of coming-home-drunk stories and even more angst-ridden teenage 'my-father-doesn't-understand-me' stories that he had told Corrine when they first met, subsequently causing a romance to blossom.

None of his children knew of his past, nor did he want any of them to. Philip was very ashamed of what he had done in his youth. One story in particular stuck out to him. When he and Jen were 20, they had been out all night to an end of the school year fraternity party. They both had gotten so drunk that neither if them could drive home, so his friend Lisa Tarsi, now his children's godmother, had called Ginny to pick them up. Ginny did, rather reluctantly, and brought them back to their dorm rooms. In the time that he got into the car and got home, he ended up vomiting all over Ginny's Cadillac, not that he remembered much about that night. Once he could think again, he paid to have Ginny's car cleaned as an incentive for her not to tell his father about it. He didn't need to deal with his father's problems then.

But today Jen was a psychologist and she was married to an ex-professional body builder turned fireman, while Ginny was the editor of a fashion magazine that was based in St. Paul and she had been married to a Police Officer and divorced him, now she was married to a Chef at a rather exclusive restaurant. If Philip remembered correctly, Ginny had a daughter that was a Registered Nurse and a son that was only about two years older then Adam. Jen had 2 daughters and a son. Her oldest daughter and oldest child was an aspiring photojournalist, her son played football in college, and her youngest daughter, who was only 14, wanted to be a beautician.

Looking down again, Philip saw Corrine's daily planner laying open on her desk. He placed the picture down on her dresser and walked over to close the planner. As he closed the planner, he was shocked to see '6:50, appointment with Jen' written for that day. Now he knew why she had run out on Claribel so fast, but why did she need to see Jen? It was probably nothing... Right?

(------)

Fulton was turning redder by the minute as his mother, sisters, and Tammy talked about his past. There were the normal baby stories, childhood mess ups, and teenage problems, and he was fine with that. But when D.J. and T.J. had asked Bethany to whip out the photos, and she agreed, things went in a different direction then he had expected.

"Aw. You were so cute." Tammy said, looking at a picture of Fulton smearing mashed yams on his face and high chair, "Not that you still aren't, but this is priceless."

"Tammy," Fulton said, "Please don't tell anyone about these pictures."

"Why not?" D.J. asked, "You were adorable."

"He has a reputation." Bethany replied, knowing how tough Fulton seemed to be to anyone who met him, "Don't worry, honey. What is said or shown at this table stays at this table."

"Yup." T.J. replied, "By the way, grandma and grandpa send their love. They want to come up and see you at some point. Plus, they'd love to visit mom." D.J. nodded and Fulton silently cursed at himself. He needed to go to the cemetery and clean up around Robyn's grave like he promised his mother he would.

"It would be lovely to see them again." Bethany replied quietly. She had always felt a little bit guilty about Robyn's death, knowing that that was about the time that Dorian really started to get crazy. However, there was no proof that it was anything but a sad accident, so she couldn't say anything. But, then again, there was nothing to the contrary either.

"Oh my goodness." D.J. said as she picked up a picture, "Is this the Pee-Wee Ducks?"

Bethany and Tammy looked over, "Yup." Tammy replied, "That picture was taken just after we won the Championship." Fulton laughed as his mother handed him the picture. He wasn't sure which picture it was, but just slightly off center was Guy and Connie having their first kiss. Just moments after that picture had been taken, all of the Duck's rushed to the hospital to tell Adam the good news. Charlie had gotten there first, but he waited so that the whole team could tell Adam.

"Then we raced to the hospital to tell Adam the good news." Fulton reminisced.

Tammy nodded, "Uh-huh. That was also the night that everyone met Jamie. He was waiting for Adam when Charlie got to the hospital. I still can't believe that I had a crush on him."

"You... What?" Fulton asked, deadpanned.

"It was only a little one." Tammy said in an attempt to defend herself, "It was for, like, two days. You're much more my type."

"I find that disturbing on very many levels." Fulton said, more to himself then anyone else. Tammy scoffed and threw a piece of a roll at him, hitting him directly on the nose.


	49. With a Grain of Salt Doesn't Always Work

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**PrincessH-** I've never known anyone that had the baby picture at dinner showing before, but I suppose you are right. It must be a mother thing. They love looking back on their children's most embarrassing moments. I'm glad that you loved the Tammy/Fulton-ness again. Like I said before, I do try to do relationships justice, and I am glad that you are approving so far. Thanks!

**nilber-** I'm so sorry, but I can't tell you whether or not Dani and Adam will get back together. It would just ruin the surprise for everyone, and we wouldn't want that, now would we? I am glad that you liked them together and want them to get back together, but everyone will have to wait and see what will happen. Thanks for reviewing!

**mdgirl18-** Well, I hope your summer was enjoyable. I'm actually very surprised that you say that all you could think about all summer was this story. Are you being truthful with that statement? Because if you are, I would probably cry. I'm glad that you liked all of the chapters when you finally got a chance to read them. Thank you!

A capitalized THANK YOU to Bad Best Friend!

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Sitting by the window, watching the snow fall, Charlie sighed. He could really use someone to talk to at the moment. His mother's divorce to his stepfather was really starting to get ugly. Not only was Jake denying the baby, he had also promised that if he was indeed shown to be it's father, he would do everything in his power to get sole custody of him or her. Charlie knew that Jake was the baby's father, as did his mother, so basically Casey Conway was an emotional wreak. She knew that, with his lawyer, Jake could very well do what he was planning on doing, meaning taking away the baby that was growing inside her.

Charlie couldn't talk to one of, or all of, the Ducks about this problem. He wasn't sure why, but it was almost as if he couldn't say anything or it would actually happen. As if he kept quiet then it _wouldn't_ happen. However, he knew that that wasn't what was going to happen. Lately he had gotten very withdrawn and the Ducks were starting to notice.

"Charlie?" Adam said as he exited the bathroom after taking a shower, "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Charlie asked, "Oh, yeah. Why do you ask?"

Adam pulled on his white t-shirt and said, "Well, you have been staring out the window for about 45 minutes and you keep sighing." Charlie shrugged, "Everyone is noticing that you have been a little distant lately. Linda stopped Ken, Dwayne, and Averman after Art 2 asking what was wrong with you. So, care to share?"

"There's nothing to share, Banksie." Charlie replied, "There isn't anything wrong with me."

"Of course there isn't." Adam responded, unconvinced, "You know that you can talk to us. If there is something on your mind then we can help. Ducks fly together, remember?"

"Adam, this really isn't anything."

"But it is, undeniably, something." Adam said.

"Where the hell did you come up with that?" Charlie asked. Really, what was happening to his best friend? However, something he had said did make sense. Ducks fly together, "It's nothing, man."

"Whatever." Adam sighed exasperatedly. He picked his jacket off of the floor and put it on, "If you finally want to get whatever it is that you have on your chest off of it, then you know where to find me; and everyone else. We're all here for you."

"Thanks." Charlie said, "Have fun ogling Dani from not-so-afar." He joked, knowing that Adam, as well as the other Ducks, were going to the old pond for a game. Dani and Tammy were going as well, hence the teasing.

"Ha." Was Adam's simple reply as he walked out the door.

"Cake-eater." Charlie whispered to himself as soon as Adam was out the door, with said door closed firmly behind him. Looking out the window again, Charlie thought about the saying 'Ducks Fly Together'. It had been a promise between the old ducks and the new ducks that had someway found itself come full circle with the return of Tammy and Tommy. But there was also a Duck that had always been there, if for only a while. A Duck that everyone could talk to and vent on. With that thought planted firmly in his head, Charlie picked up the phone and dialed.

(---------)

The smell of pasta sauce lingered from dinner as Gordon Bombay looked over his cases for work. However, certain distractions kept his mind occupied about half the time. Julian was swaying to and fro on the couch as he hummed a song that he had been taught in class to help him remember simple multiplication, while Myrka was rocking back and forth in the rocking chair that his mother had given him and reading The Count Of Monte Cristo.

"Dad?"

"Yes, honey?" Gordon asked, looking up as his daughter.

"When are we going to meet grandma?" She asked, "She wasn't in Minnesota when we were there last, so I was wondering when we where going to meet her."

Gordon thought for a second, "Spring Break." He said.

"Promise?" Julian asked as he stopped swaying.

"Promise." Gordon replied. Myrka smiled and went back to her book while Julian started swaying again. The clock rang 10:00 and Gordon looked over at the children expectantly. They immediately stood up and went to prepare for bed, "I'll be in in a minute to check on you." He said.

"Night, Daddy." Myrka said as she walked down the hall towards the bathroom.

"Good night, daddy." Julian added as he left the room.

Gordon chuckled as the children left. They were good kids and very independent. He knew that they would go directly to bed at ten even if they weren't told and even if everyone said he should be sending Julian to bed much earlier then Myrka because of their age difference. This thoughts were interrupted, however, by the phone ringing. He picked it up and held it to his ear with his shoulder, "Gordon Bombay."

"Coach?" Charlie's voice asked, "It's about time. I've been calling you for that past 4 hours at least." Gordon was shocked, why would Charlie try to call him for four hours? This had to be serious or Charlie would joke around; he didn't sound in a joking mood, "Coach?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Gordon replied, "What can I do for you, Charlie?"

"I need to vent or I am going to go insane and I don't want to tell any of the Ducks what I have to say."

"Then, by all means, start talking." Gordon said, "I would be happy to listen to you."

"Thanks." Charlie said, "That's what I was hoping to hear." Taking a deep breath, Charlie went into his story, "Did I ever mention that Jake was divorcing mom?"

Gordon felt his jaw drop, "No, you failed to mention that." He said. How on Earth could a man divorce the women that was carrying his child? He knew that Casey had very good taste, so how did she end up with this guy?

Charlie sighed, "Yeah, well, he is." He said, "His doesn't think that the baby is his."

"What?" Gordon asked, seeing red. Casey was one of the most loyal and faithful women that he had met in his life, how and who on Earth could accuse her of something like what she was being accused of?

"That's not all."

"It isn't?" Gordon asked exasperatedly. What what going on?

"No, it isn't." Charlie replied, "Jake promised mom that if he was shown to be the baby's father then he would do anything in his power to take him or her away from mom by gaining sole custody." Gordon dropped the phone, "Coach? Coach?"

"Huh?" Gordon asked, once he got the phone back in his hand, "I mean, he really said that."

"Well, what I said was much less profane then his actual wording." Charlie scathed, "He has this really hyped up lawyer that has a 'unbeatable record' or something. Mom is too close to a break down to ask for help and I have no idea what I can do to help."

Gordon sighed, trying to keep his anger to a minimum, "What's this lawyers name?" He asked.

"Um..." Charlie said, "If I remember correctly it was Duncan Haywood. Yeah, that was it. I remember because when Jake told us about him, he was holding a Dunkin' Doughnuts coffee." Charlie sighed, "Have you ever heard of him?"

Gordon laughed sourly, "Yeah, I have. He's a royal pain in the ass if I remember correctly, and I do. I had a few cases against him and barely scrapped by if I even won at all."

"Gee, thanks." Charlie said monotonously.

"I'm sorry, Charlie." Gordon apologized, "I wish I could help..." Just at that moment, a light bulb went off in his head, "Charlie, you and Casey aren't going to lose the baby."

"I wish I had your optimism." Charlie replied, "I have to go. I think Adam is about to break down the door if I don't let him in."

"Good night, Charlie."

"Night." Charlie hung up the phone as Gordon did the same. His brilliant idea would piss off a lot of people, but, in all honesty, he didn't really care at all; he would go to great lengths for Casey and Charlie Conway. After a moments consideration, Gordon picked up his telephone again and dialed.

(--------)

It wasn't too late, only 10:20 at night. However, Philip Banks wanted desperately to leave the office and go home to his wife. He had had to work late on a big case that involved some high end clients that, frankly, he didn't like. They were rude, pompous, and reminded him of his father and himself. Self loathing had been something that Philip had dwindled into ever since he had seen that Corrine had had an appointment with Jen. He knew that the appointment had to have been about him; Corrine didn't trust anyone else with advice about him.

Whatever Corrine didn't think that she could tell him was starting to weigh on Philip's shoulders. He had always been open and honest with her, even when it got him the couch, as had she with him; so, why couldn't she tell him what it was that she so obviously wanted to. It couldn't be that something had happened to her, could it? If that was the case then she knew that he would do everything in his power to help her.

Philip jumped as the voice of his secretary, Karen Dayle, spoke to him via speaker, "Mr. Banks?"

"Uh... Yes, Karen?"

"You have a call on line one."

"Thank you, Karen." Philip said, "You should get home." Karen stumbled over what she had intended to say and managed a 'thank you'. Philip picked up the phone and pressed the button for line one, "Philip Banks."

"Hello Philip."

"Gordon Bombay." Philip replied, he would never forget that voice, particularly after being quacked at by it when he tried to get Adam back on the Hawks, "What can I do for you?"

"First off, I have a question." Gordon said, "What would you do if I said the name 'Duncan Haywood'." As soon as Gordon said the name, Philip took the pen he was holding and slammed it onto his desk, creating a large bang in the large and empty office. Not intentionally, he just hated Duncan Haywood with a fiery passion, "That's what I thought."

"Why do you ask?" Philip asked, trying to keep his cool, though it was harder then it would look to someone.

"Well, it's a long story." Gordon replied.

"Then you had better start the storytelling now." Philip said.

Gordon sighed, "Did you know that Casey was issued divorce papers?"

"Yes, it was a while ago." Philip replied, "Corrine told me after she talked to Casey in October."

"October?" Gordon asked, "And I just found out about this tonight?" He sighed, "Anyway, did you also know that Jake was denying the baby and that he was going to have a paternity test once he or she was born and if he was shown to be the father he would do anything in his power to gain sole custody?"

"No, I didn't, but let me guess, Duncan Haywood is his attorney."

"That would be correct."

"I knew that Haywood was low, but this is pathetic." Philip sighed, "You know the Conway's. They are the most independent family that you will ever meet. They take everything with a grain of salt, but this isn't one of the cases that that will work."

"The only reason I know is that Charlie called, needing to tell somebody." Gordon replied, "He didn't want to tell any of the Ducks for who knows what reason."

"Adam would have most certainly told me if he had known." Philip said.

"I think Charlie locked him out of their room so that he could call me without interruption so that no one found out."

"Thank you for calling." Philip said, "I think I have an idea."

"And that would be...?" Gordon asked.

"A surprise." Philip replied, "Good night." With that, Philip hung up the phone and pulled out his address book. Inside he found a business card of one Maxwell August Munroe, better known as M. August Munroe, Divorce attorney. Philip had known Maxwell for about a year, after one of Munroe's clients went to him after her divorce got violent. He and Munroe had worked together to get her every bit of protection that she needed from her ex, as well as taking the man to the cleaners after years of him taking from her. Philip knew that the Conway's deserved better then what Jake was planning on doing to them, so he planned on giving them a team that worked efficiently and would take one Jakob 'Jake' Talbot to the cleaners... Only if necessary, of course.


	50. Lights, Camera, OLYMPICS: Part 1

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**mdgirl18-** I'm glad that you loved Charlie in the last chapter. And at least you're being honest about waiting for this story (or lack thereof). But I have one question, you said that you watched MD 3 and it reminded you of this story, does that mean that it's a forgettable story? Just asking. Thanks for reviewing.

Thank you Tinkerbell821 and PrincessH!

(---------)

This was it... The time had finally come... Today was the day... The 2006 Olympics. Dani sighed as she waited for her time to skate. She was the second to last person to skate and it sucked to wait. Tammy was currently in position for silver and Gala was in gold, but it was only the short skate. Tomorrow would be more training and then the day after was the long program. Trying to keep her mind off of being up next was much harder then some people would think.

The only thing that occupied her mind was skating, and not just hers. The men's skate had been a week and a half before. Mathieu had placed silver behind a Russian named Evgeni Plushenko (**A/N:** did actually win the gold... He was awesome), that no one could touch if their lives depended on it. Joey and her partner, Blaise Reynaud, had gained the bronze in pairs skating, but not after a tumultuous battle that brought Joey to the brink.

It began during the short program and went downhill from there. During one of the lifts, Blaise almost dropped Joey and could have broken her arm and leg had he done so. And if that wasn't enough, it was as if he completely blanked during half of the foot work and almost threw Joey into the boards on two of the throws. After the show it was clear to anyone that had eyeballs that Joey was pissed beyond measure. As she skated to find out their scores, she threw up her hands and mumbled angrily while Mathieu was clearly battling amusement at Blaise's mistakes (he had always hated his sister's partner) and anger that Joey might lose her last chance at an Olympic metal. While waiting for the scores, Joey sat as far away from Blaise as possible. Luckily, he had gotten his act back together for the long program and they had scrapped up the bronze. But just as their program finished, Blaise whispered something into Joey's ear that caused her to slap him so hard that he almost fell on the ice.

The Ice Dancers were a little less exciting to watch, but one of the Italian couples were a little steamed when they left the ice for some discrepancy or another. Dani couldn't really remember. And for the first time in many years, an American couple metaled, taking silver.

Dani felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up. Her coach was standing above her with a smile on his face. Luckily he was healed from the attack and could attend, "How are you feeling?"

Dani sighed, "Like I want to puke."

"Don't do that on the ice, okay?" Eric Orion replied.

Chuckling, Dani shrugged, "I think I can hold it in for now." Although she wasn't really sure that she could. She knew that all of the Ducks were in the stands and she had a sneaking suspicion that Ash was there as well. And he more then likely had brought Silver with him which didn't help Dani's nerves any.

"Don't worry, you'll do great."

"Sure." Dani said, not really feeling any emotion that she could put into her skating. It was as if she had been drained the night before as she slept. The scores for the skater before her, a young women from the Ukraine, had been put up and she did very well if the cheers were any indication. That meant that it was her turn.

"Good Luck, Dani." Eric whispered, "You'll do great." Dani smiled as she and her coach walked to the ice for her performance. She looked around the crowd as she skated towards the center of the ice. The Ducks were sitting together and began cheering madly while she was announced. Joey, Mathieu, and his girlfriend Trina, who had dark red hair and a distinct punk rock look about her, were sitting on the third row and Joey blew her a kiss as she made her way into position. Just as Dani had suspected, Ash was about halfway up the stands and he had a beautiful young women with black hair and a lip piercing, clearly his girlfriend.

"Shit." Dani mumbled to herself. Her feeling of wanting to puke was coming on stronger then ever. Taking a deep breath, Dani turned her head and wrapped her arms around her and waited for her music to start.

The music started slow, as most do, and she stood in her position until a low drum rumbled lightly through the various string instruments. As the drums got louder, Dani spun slightly and skated off towards the left (her left) side of the rink. She was always confident in her footwork, and this time was no exception. As she skated, her feet went every which way as quickly as possible and Dani knew that she was getting points for it. What scared her was what was coming up next.

Slowing down her footwork, Dani readied herself for a triple toe loop/double axle combination. On cue with crescendo the music, Dani spun herself into the air for her triple toe loop, which she landed superbly, and immediately went into the double axle, which also went very well. Internally sighing, Dani kept a straight face as she skated towards the center of the ice and bent her left knee, placed her right foot on her left knee and bent her back over as she spun on her left foot.

Gracefully lifting herself upright, Dani continued to spin. Once she stopped herself, she skated on, mentally preparing herself for a double Salchow, which was normally somewhat easy for Dani to accomplish. Gaining her cue from the music, Dani lifted herself into the air with grace. Her landing, unfortunately, left a little more to be desired. The moment her skate touched the ice, Dani lost her balance and fell flat on her stomach. She kept her face blank as she stood back up, not wanting to show her disappointment, and continued with the few things she had left to do.

Smiling, Dani willed herself to gain the momentum for another spin. This time, Dani latched her arms around her and tucked her left foot behind the right, spinning herself as she did so. As her spin slowed down, Dani relaxed her arms and lifted them so that she looked like a ballerina. Turning just a little more, Dani was relieved to remember that she only had a few more things to do. As she skated, Dani lifted her leg and stretched it out over her head.

As the finale came into her sights, Dani prepared herself for what had always been one of her biggest finishers, a triple toe loop/double Lutz/axle combination. Taking a deep breath, Dani cut her toe pick into the ice. The Triple toe loop went as well as planned, but when she got to the Lutz, the odds were not in her favor once again. She fell and landed on her rear end.

Needless to say, Dani was not having the best performance of her life. She was so confused as to why. She had worked so hard on this show for so long and now it was all going down the drain. Keeping up her pace, Dani stood back up and went back to all she had left to do, dazzle them all with her footwork. Going faster and faster, smiling all the while to keep up pretenses, Dani floated around like nothing had happened. To end what had been a very bad night, Dani abruptly stopped all movement, just as planned, with no problems at all. Her left toe was pointing towards the ice, her knee bent, while the other foot was flat. Her torso was turned at the hips so that it all was facing one side of the rink. Her face was serious and her arm hung tensely at her sides.

Leaving her position, Dani dropped the serious expression on her face and replaced it with a look a major disappointment. What had she done wrong that she would have messed up as much as she did? It took every ounce of self control that Dani could had to make sure that her tears of anger didn't drip out of her eyes, not in front of the world. There was no way that she would be able to handle that.

Skating over to her coach, Dani ignored the cheers and calls from the crowd. All she wanted to do was get away as soon as possible. Her coach smiled as she passed him and he hugged her before she sat down to get her scores. What was actually only about 2 minutes took hours to Dani. She sighed when she saw her scores. Tied with a women from Spain in 4th place.

(-------)

For the thousandth time in the past 3 hours, Adam turned over in bed. It had killed him to watch Dani fall and look so completely miserable when she got her score. 4th place wasn't too bad, but it wasn't a metal and it defiantly wasn't what Dani wanted. She was as competitive as Dean and she meant to get a metal at the very least, gold would be preferable.

It was 5:00 in the morning and Adam figured that he should get out of bed because he wasn't going to get any more sleep. He got dressed and looked at his snoring roommate and chuckled. Charlie always looked like he was a caterpillar in a cocoon the way that he wrapped himself up with his arms and legs sticking out.

Adam made his way towards the Ice Rink, thinking that this would be the best time to get some exercise to wake himself up more then he was. With his skates over his shoulder, Adam walked out into the snow towards the Ice Rink. Once he made it there, he was surprised to hear classical music playing near the ice. That could only mean one thing.

"What's an Olympian like yourself doing up this early?" He asked as he walked down the stairs towards the ice.

"What do you think?" Dani asked back sourly. Her face was streaked with tears and she was obviously upset, "I royally screwed up this afternoon and I have today and tomorrow morning to rectify the situation." She turned around and muttered to herself what she should do with the next move that she was planning.

Sighing, Adam placed his skates on the ground and walked up behind Dani and placed his arms around Dani's waist and pulled her towards him, "Dani, you need to take a breath." He said, "This is getting ridiculous, you're getting obsessed."

"Obsessed?" Dani asked, her voice breaking, "Adam, this has been my dream since I was five. Forgive me for wanted to accomplish the goals that I have set for myself."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Dan." Adam replied, "But your are going to end up being disappointed and hurting yourself." Adam lifted his left arm and began stroking Dani's, "You're a fantastic skater. All you have to do is remember you're own little world and get lost in it." Dani sobbed as she became dangerously close to spinning around and kissing Adam as passionately as possible, "You can have what ever you want."

Dani chuckled and turned, "What ever I want?" She asked.

"Of course." Adam replied.

"Well then, I guess I have to take advantage of that." With that said, Dani leaned forward and kissed Adam gently on the lips.

Adam pulled back reluctantly, "Dani, I thought we agreed..."

"I didn't agree to anything." Dani interrupted, "I remember it being you that did all of the talking." Adam smiled slightly and nodded, she was right, "What if I want is you. Then can I have it?"

Adam smiled and placed his hand under Dani's chin, "Guess." He said before gently pulling her up and kissing her.

This time it was Dani who pulled away, "You're really good at that." She said, "Did you know?" Adam smiled again and Dani stepped over off of the ice and placed her arms around him. He did the same, but was caught immensely off guard when Dani began to passionately kiss him. But, in all honesty, he wasn't going to complain.


	51. Lights, Camera, OLYMPICS: Part 2

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**Tinkerbell821-** Yes, I did take a long time to get that last chapter up... I think it was worth it... Hopefully. And, yes again, Adam and Dani are back together. Yay for them! I thought that some people might enjoy this chapter and I am glad that you do. Dani and Adam are great together and that was why I but them back together... Like you said, Adam really needs to talk to Dean about it... Because if he doesn't, the there could be problems.

**AznIntegera-** You're right, it's about time. I'm glad that you've been waiting to see when Dani and Adam would get back together. Dean does have a tendency to be a CPA (Constant Pain in the Ass) when it comes to Dani's relationships. We'll find out about how well he accepts them later.

Thank you figgiestaker9, PrincessH, and Dragon Tamer Ruth!

(---------)

The day of the long program had arrived and Dani was feeling so much better then she had been after the short program... Hell, she was feeling 10 times better then she had been _before_ the short program, and she had Adam to thank for that. At the moment she was waiting for Gia and Tammy to get ready. The three of the were going to the 'festivities' together, but neither Tammy nor Gia were ready yet.

At the moment Dani was sitting in the make-shift classroom that she had to admit she was going to miss when she went back home. With her eyes closed and her head bobbing back and forth to Papa Roach that Dean had put on the iPod that he had given her in November. Even though her eyes were closed, she knew who was there when she felt hands run over her shoulders and arms. Turning her head and pulled her earphones out of her ears, Dani smiled and looked behind her.

"Hello."

"Hi, Adam." Dani replied, "What can I do for you?" Adam raised his eyebrows in a very Dean-like manner and Dani sighed, "I have to leave soon."

"But not now."

Dani sighed, "You know, you sounded a lot like Dean just then."

"Oh no." Adam replied, horrified.

"Adam, do me a favor." Dani said.

"Sure. What?"

"Shut up." She replied, leaning back and stealing a kiss. Adam didn't let her pull away when she tried, making the kiss deeper then she had originally intended for it to be. After a moment, Dani managed to gain a little space to pull back, "Really go to go." She repeated.

"Or not." Adam said, kissing her again.

Yet again, Dani pulled back, "Aren't you going to the program?"

"Later." Adam replied, continuing the kiss. This time, Dani didn't bother arguing, she just went with it. Adam tightened his arms around her stomach and pulled her onto his lap. In a bold move that neither of them expected, Adam opened his mouth slightly and slipped his tongue into Dani's mouth. It was obvious that she was shocked, but she didn't pull away. In fact, she was thoroughly enjoying what was happening. That was, until...

"Oh! Sorry!" A voice called, causing the two to part, "I wasn't here. Continue!" Dani and Adam chuckled nervously as Tammy exited the room, turning bright red. It was ironic that just about 6 months ago, it was Dani that had walked in on Tammy and Fulton in a similar fashion.

As the door closed, Dani bit her lip and sighed, "Well," She said to Adam, "you heard the girl." Adam chuckled and returned to kissing Dani.

Moments later, a timid knock came on the door and Tammy's voice said, "Um, I really hate to break this up... I mean I _really _hate to break this up, but I need Dani so that we can leave... I'm sorry. You can always do what your doing later..." Adam and Dani chuckled again and stole one last kiss before Dani stood up and walked towards the door.

(----------)

The final skaters were up and, once again, Dani was one of those. As a matter of fact she was the last person to skate... Was this a sign or something? Second to last and then last? Dani sure hoped not. Gala, not surprisingly, still had the lead and Tammy, as before, was in second place. Dani knew better then anyone else that she had to step up her game when she went out on the ice. Cheers from the stands told her that the skater before her had just gotten her scores and from the sounds of the cheers, they weren't that great. Breathing deeply, Dani stood and readied herself for her program.

As she skated onto the ice, Dani knew that the commentators were talking about her less then perfect performance just two days ago. Taking a deep breath, she stopped in the center of the ice and flicked her eyes around. Once again, the Ducks were sitting together, Adam blew her a discreet kiss which only lifted her spirits more, and Ash and Silver were there again. Gala was sitting next to Gunnar, Sindri two steps up, and she looked confident, but her eyes showed slight fear about what her father would do if she lost. Dani felt really sorry for her, but she was still going to do the best that she could. Crossing her left leg behind her right with her toe pointed to the ice, clasping her hands in front of her, and looking slightly upwards as if she was thinking hard, Dani waited for the music to start.

It began with a soft piano, just a few notes, then silence. To those notes Dani looked forward. Another few soft notes and Dani unclasped her hands. And then, there were more soft notes that allowed her to uncross her feet. The notes continued and got louder and faster as Dani began skating, getting faster with the music. As was before, Dani's footwork was something that amazed. Faster and faster, until her feet were almost blurs, Dani waited for her moment... and for some reason, that moment wasn't as dreaded as she thought it would be.

Taking in the music, Dani knew exactly what was coming. Twisting herself into the air for a triple toe loop, she coincided perfectly with a sharp note from several violins. Landing perfectly, Dani almost immediately went into a back spin. The crowd cheered, but Dani blocked it out as her spinning slowed and continued skating, working her arms so that they went along with her footwork.

Abruptly stopping all of the footwork that she had been building towards, Dani went into a sit spin that progressed into a catch foot layback spin. Internally sighing, Dani fluidly placed her blade back onto the ice and made her way across the ice as if she had not been interrupted by her spins. Gliding across the ice, Dani felt a smile creep onto her face. Next was one of the things that she loved to do, for the sheer fact that when ever she talked about it, her dad would freak and think that it was too dangerous. Positioning herself in a Axel-like take off, Dani spun herself into the air and attempted a Death Drop spin. Yet again, Dani landed gracefully, just as she was supposed to.

Skating on, now just using her footwork, Dani tried to shake off the strange worried sensation that she had just gained out of no where. Turning her head slightly to the side, she saw Dean. He was obviously very nervous and rocking back and forth in his chair. She and Dean had always had what people call 'twin telepathy', and right now it was getting on her nerves. Bringing her index finger to her nose, Dani tapped the tip of her nose and then pointed to Dean. He got the message that he needed to stop worrying.

With the satisfaction of knowing that Dean would keep his emotions out of her head, Dani continued taking in her music. On cue from the lowering of all of the instruments in the music, Dani twisted herself into the air for a triple Salchow. The Salchow came in perfect unison with a loud guitar riff. The guitar balanced out the piano and violins that had reemerged after the singular riff.

Skating on, the distant cheers of the crowd getting lower, Dani lifted her left leg up and arched her back, pulling her foot over her head. Placing her foot back on the ice, Dani gracefully continued on. Speeding up, Dani twisted around so that she was skating backwards and lifted herself into the air for a toe loop/Axel/toe loop combination.

Unable to keep herself from smiling widely, Dani continued on with a little more footwork before crossing her left leg behind her right and spinning. As her spinning slowed, the music slowed. Once she had almost stopped completely, Dani lowered herself onto one knee and looked and pointed to the ceiling, the last note tinkling as she stayed still as a statute.

It was over... It was over? It was over!

This time her show seemed shorter then it had on the actual short program. She had landed everything perfectly and hadn't messed up on any of the spins, plus she had felt much more confident before the show then she had before the short program.

Standing back up, Dani's smile widened as she skated over to get her scores. As she stepped off of the ice, Dani hugged her coach and breathed deeply, "Calm down. You did fantastically." He mumbled. Breathing deeply again, Dani sat down and stared intently at the screen that her scores were momentarily going to be posted on. She could here the commentators saying something about what a fabulous show she had just put on, but her ears weren't working to there fullest extend at the moment.

Staring at the screen, Dani tapped her fingers against her knee as numbers flicked onto said screen. Her jaw dropped and she couldn't breathe as she quickly did the calculations in her head... She ended up .59 points in front of Gala. She had gained the gold, Gala the silver, and Tammy the Bronze. Turning her head, Dani saw that Gala was clapping, but she looked extremely scared and worried.

(-------)

"Gala!" Dani called after the medal ceremony. Gala turned on the platform she was standing on as Dani climbed onto it as well, "You did good."

Gala shrugged, "You did better."

"Only .59 points better."

"True. Congratulations." Gala quipped, "But I'm going to beat your tush at the World Championships."

Dani laughed, "Whatever you say." The two laughed off what tension had been left between them. As they were shaking hands, Gala lurched forward and fell off of the platform, knocking Dani off with her. When Dani landed, she landed flat on her face and when she heard a crack, she knew that her nose had broken. Squirming onto her back and holding her nose, Dani saw that Gala was writhing around as well. She was holding onto her wrist while simultaneously inspecting the large bruise that forming on her back.

"You pathetic, miserable, traitorous, ungrateful little brat!" A thickly accented male voice said, "I give you everything and you lose to this!" Dani looked up and saw a man with blond hair and a dark sneer pointing towards her as he kicked Gala in the ribs. Before anything else could happen, Mathieu jumped out of no where and placed pressure on the man's throat.

A stampede of people ran into the room and crowded around the two injured metal winners. Gunnar helped Gala to her feet and mumbled to her in Icelandic as Dani was helped to her feet by Mathieu and her coach, "Are you alright?"

"Fine Coach." Dani replied sarcastically, "Just a little broken nose." She added as she wiped blood off of her upper lip.

"I'm so sorry." Gala apologized.

"Not a problem." Dani said as the two were led to see paramedics, "I guess that that was your father."

"Your guess would be accurate." Gala responded as a paramedic poked at her wrist, "OW!" She exclaimed, slapping the paramedic on the hand.

"It's sprained." The man said in a pained way, "And she has a hard slap."

Gala and Dani laughed, "Well don't poke it then... Jeez." Dani replied as she placed a washcloth over her bloody nose, "Ow..." She mumbled, "And my brothers say that it was fun their noses."

"What?" Gala asked indignantly.

Dani shook her head, "My older brother and twin brother have both broken their noses once." She explained, "You know guys... They have to be tough and not be pained in any way."

"I like sensitivity."

"I do too, Gala." Dani replied as the paramedics readied to take Gala and herself to a hospital were they could be better cared for.


	52. I Can't Breathe

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-------)

**AznIntega-** Yes, it is good to see Adam and Dani back together. I thought that it would be a perfect time for them to do so. I know plenty of people who are exactly like Gala's father, that's why I wanted to put him in there. Dean's acceptance might come later when he finds out, but as I said before, he can be a pain in the ass about that kind of thing. Yes, Dani's better performance was helped by Adam. He's just a great guy like that! Thanks!

**Bad Best Friend-** As I said before, I know plenty of people like Gala and Gunnar's father who, angry enough, would hit someone in public. None of them are parents, but I was just thinking into the future... Anyway with the Olympics over, yes the story will be slowing down, but it's not over yet! We still have a few very important things to fix. I hope that it won't get too boring or anything as we go on, because I am trying to make it that it isn't! Thank you as well!

Many thanks to PrincessH and mdgirl18!

(--------)

Sitting on a stainless steel counter with her legs crossed and leaning against the window, Dani smiled as she read a letter from 7 year old twins from Ottawa, Illinois who had, like everyone else, heard about the incident after the Metal Ceremony, and had written with their congratulations for winning and their support after what had happened. The way that the two little girls wrote to her was so innocent and sweet, she couldn't help but smile... The problem was that when she smiled her broken nose and bruising didn't feel all that great. Flinching, Dani placed the letter down and picked up the small mirror up from next to her and pouted as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Knock, knock." A voice said at the front door, "Doesn't pouting make it hurt more?"

Dani shook her head, "Leave me alone, I look like a raccoon... And I don't even bruise all that easily." Hoping down from the counter top, Dani continued, "Shouldn't you be doing homework or something, Adam?"

Adam sighed, "I finished early and no one else was so I figured that this would be the best time to get away."

"That's very sweet."

"I thought you would say that." Adam replied as he pulled a small box out of his pocket, "And I hope that what I imagined you would say when you got this is what you will actually say when you open it." Dani furrowed her eyebrows and took the box from his hand. Pulling off the top, Dani felt her eyes pop out, "I noticed that you have a lot of infinity symbols all over the place... So I wanted to get that for you."

Dani picked the necklace out of the box and stared at the infinity pendent, "Um... How expensive was this? Because I've never really gotten this kind of thing before." Adam just stayed quiet, "Mind helping me put it on?" Adam smiled as Dani turned and handed him the clasp. After securing the clasp, Adam couldn't stop himself from from letting his hands rest on her shoulders. Dani reached up and held onto his hand that was resting on her left shoulder, "I never got a chance to thank you."

"For what?"

Dani turned and sighed, "You were the one that reminded me what I skated for. I was never the kind of girl who skated for the metals or the glory of saying that I had won. Throughout this whole ordeal of being America's Next Big Thing and dealing with my psycho stalker, I forgot that. After the Short Program, you reminded me that I skated because it was something that I loved, not something that I did for everyone else."

"You're welcome." Adam replied, "It hurt to see you so conflicted." Dani smiled and she and Adam leaned in to kiss each other... Then they remembered that she had a broken nose and they backed up a little and settled on a hug. Without Adam noticing, Dani rolled her eyes. She loved the smell of what ever shampoo it was that he used and now she couldn't even smell it because of her broken nose! Damn it!

"_Spero che non stia interrompendo nulla._" **(Italian: I hope that I'm not interrupting anything.) **An irritated male voice said from the doorway. They both had been so preoccupied that they hadn't heard a knock or the door open, nor had the felt the cold of the February air enter the building.

Pulling away quickly, Dani managed to sputter, "_Nonno, che cosa state facendo qui?_" **(Italian: Grandfather, what are you doing here?). **Adam felt his body stiffen in shock and fear as he looked at the man. He must have been in his late sixties, a fact shown by his gray hair, and somewhere around 6 feet 6 inches tall. His body was a solid wall of huge muscle and his cold face and critical eyes made him even more terrifying.

"_Signora giovane._" **(Italian: Young lady.). **Adam stood in terrified silence as the man walked over to him, looked him over, and poked him in the shoulder "_Chi è questo?_" **(Italian: Who is this?)**.

"_Un amico…_" Dani replied **(Italian: A friend...)**.

"Friend?" The man asked, his thick accented voice was tinted with disbelief, "It seemed more then that." Dani bit her lip, thinking what to say. She really didn't want anyone to figure out that she and Adam had gotten back together... Much less her grandfather. He could be very picky about who 'his girls' (meaning her, her mother, and Sage, being the only women in the family) found attractive.

After not being able to stand in silence any longer, Adam tried to speak, "Um... You two obviously have a lot to talk about... And I have to go... Bye." Adam exited the building and rubbed his pained shoulder. For an old guy, that man was really strong and poked really hard.

Back in the building, Dani sighed, "_Nonno, _what are you doing here?"

"I heard about what happened and I wanted to see one of my two favorite granddaughters." Giuseppe replied, "Although I see now that I should have come later."

"_Nonno, _I'm one of the only two granddaughters that you have... And you don't need to sound like that." Dani replied, "Nothing is going on."

"I'm sure." He said, "Who is he?"

Dani took a deep breath, "You remember when Dean came back from the Junior Goodwill Games and all he could talk about was the Ducks?" He nodded, "And you remember when he mentioned the preppy?" Another nod, "Well... That's him. Adam, Adam Banks."

Thinking for a moment, Giuseppe came to a conclusion, "Well, I can't say that I ever expected to you marry someone like your brothers."

"Marry?" Dani asked, "Huh?"

"I'm not saying that you are going to marry _him_, but I wouldn't expect you to marry someone like your brothers. Unfortunately."

"Uh-huh." Dani replied, her eyes narrowed in suspicion as her hair fell over her left eye.

Careful to not touch Dani's bruises or her nose, Giuseppe placed her hair back behind her ears, "You look so much like your _Nonna_ when you have the look on your face... She was always suspicious of everything. Did I ever tell you that it took three time before she agreed to marry me?"

"No, you didn't." Dani said, "I guess that you've always been persistent."

"Bianca always said that it was my worst feature..." He replied, "But I think that she secretly liked it." Dani chuckled thinking of what it would have been like to meet her grandmother. Dani knew that her grandmother had been very revered in Italy and it seemed very unfair that perfect strangers got to know more about Bianca then her own daughter. That was the way that the ball rolled sometimes and Dani hoped that one day she could actually be able to talk to her grandfather about her grandmother without having the fear of being offensive or insensitive because her grandfather, though large and intimidating, was very touchy and sensitive about the subject of his late wife.

(--------)

Adam sat silently down at the Ducks normal table for dinner still trying to work out the pain in his shoulder, "Jeez, Banksie, what took you so long?" Charlie asked as he took a bite of spaghetti.

"What to you mean?" Adam asked back.

"He means, the second you finished with practice, you shot out of sight faster then then a calf that had spotted a brandin' iron." Dwayne replied for Charlie, "And ya just got back."

"It was nothing." Adam said.

Guy furrowed his eyebrows, "And what's wrong with your shoulder? You haven't stopped messing with it."

"A gorilla." Adam replied, while not meaning to actually say what he thought.

"A gorilla?" Dwayne asked, "There ain't any gorillas in Minnesota, they're indigenous to Africa."

Connie sighed, "What he meant was that the person he was talking about looked a lot like a gorilla." Then she looked to Adam, "And now he's going to tell us who the person is and why they were like a gorilla."

"It's nothing." Adam insisted, "And Portman, just out of curiosity, what does 'Nonno' mean?"

Dean swallowed a huge gulp of bottled water and nonchalantly replied, "It's Italian for Grandfather... Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Adam said, though he knew that Dean saw through exactly what he was doing.

"Um-hum." Dean responded skeptically, "Let me guess, the gorilla was my grandfather."

"To put it lightly." Adam replied... What, what the hell was he saying? If he kept going on, then Portman was sure to find out that he and Dani were back together which would, in turn, get him shoved up against a wall again! Then the whole thing would be back at square one!

"What did you do?"

"Nothing!" Adam exclaimed, "I was talking to Dani."

"Okay, Preppy, if you thought I was bad, then when it comes to my grandfather you should go home to you mansion and hid under your bed." Adam rolled his eyes, Dani had mentioned that she and her family lived in Morgan Park and had a large house... But Dean didn't know that he knew, "But you have nothing to worry about, you and Dani aren't an item."

"Nope." Adam lied in reply, taking a bite of his own spaghetti.

(--------)

Lying in bed, Corrine Banks stared into the darkness. She had so many things going on inside her head that she couldn't even comprehend the little thing that people called 'sleep'. Sitting up slightly, she listened to the sounds of her husband. He was breathing lightly, blissfully unaware of the torment that was ripping is wife to shreds.

Corrine sat up more and placed her hand on Philip's shoulder, "Philip? Honey?"

"Um?" Was Philip's response.

Corrine thought for a second, "Nothing, dear. I'm sorry that I woke you."

"It's okay." Philip mumbled, shifting slightly so that he could get more comfortable.

Corrine sighed at her terrible inability to talk to her husband... When did that come about? When they were younger, they could talk until the sun rose... And set again! Getting out of bed, she scolded herself as she walked to the bathroom and let water run from the faucet. She cupped her hands and let the water flow into them, splashing the water onto her face. Drying off her hands and face, Corrine picked up the small glass cup that she had next to the sink and filled it with water. She took a small sip from the almost completely full before holding it up to her eyes and staring at it.

She just couldn't take it anymore...

Without making any conscious decisions, Corrine raised the glass and threw it against the tile wall. Shattered glass and water went everywhere as Corrine slid down the wall to the floor, sobbing. At the sound of shattering glass, Philip had come running and he flung the door open and tread carefully over the glass.

Kneeling down next to his wife, Philip placed his hands on her shoulders, "Corrine? Dear, what's wrong?"

Though the sobs, Corrine managed to speak, "I'm losing you." She whispered, "I'm losing my whole family."

"Corrine, you're not losing anybody." Philip insisted, stroking her cheek.

"You just can't see it." Corrine pressed on, "Everyone's blind to what's happening." Tears rolled down her face as her breath became harsh and ragged.

Philip's eyes widened in horror, "No, Corrine, calm down. Please, everything is fine, there's no need to get upset." His attempts were in vain as Corrine began to tremor slightly from lack of oxygen and she stopped responding, "Corrine." Philip whispered in terror. He raced as fast as he could out of the bathroom, not bothering to worry about the glass, and he picked his cellphone off of his bedside table and dialed 9-1-1 as he raced back into the bathroom to give Corrine CPR... Hopefully he wouldn't be too late like he had almost been several times before.


	53. Rewind That, Please

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(--------)

**AznIntegra-** All in good time... I won't leave anyone hanging for much longer, I promise. I must agree, Adam is really not going to like hearing that his mother is in the hospital. As for Dani's personality, you pretty much hit the nail on the head, she's complex. She is sweet and caring friendly, and she is the tough girl. She is the athlete and the nerd. She wants to have a knight in shining armor, but she can take care of herself. But, no, she is not perfect. She has her share of issues, she just doesn't let them get in her way... Most of the time. As for you wanting to date her yourself, I'll take that as a compliment. Thanks!

**Lilmonkey1507-** I'm glad that you liked the last chapter. When it comes to capturing attention, I am everything like everyone else. Some chapters get more reviews then others and some stories get don't get as many reviews as I would like them to get. Even if you are just kidding about the 'writing hero' thing, I appreciate it.

**Bad Best Friend-** Well, I can say that it is a good thing that the good outweighs the bad... I thought about what would be a good Dwayne comment and the mixture of stereotypical country life with a sometimes over-intelligent answer seemed to be the best. As for Adam, he isn't the type of guy to call on someone about where they live, so he wouldn't bug Dean about his house. I said earlier that I wouldn't keep everyone waiting much longer, and I won't.

Thank you PrincessH and mdgirl18. And a special thanks to Dragon Tamer Ruth, who reviewed for chapter 51, but wasn't mentioned.

(-------)

Adam sat in the locker room at Eden Hall, sobbing almost uncontrollably. Although he had a very good reason. He had just gotten a message from his father saying that his mother had had an asthma attack. Normally Philip called them 'episodes', meaning that she was fine after a few moments rest. 'Attacks' were the bad kind that she used to get frequently when she was a child, and a teenager, but had subsided when she met Philip. She only got them on occasions when she was very upset or had sustained a serious injury, the pain causing her respiratory system to go into overdrive. So, this information withstanding, Adam was very curious as to what could make her have such an attack.

All of the Ducks had left and Adam thought over the idea of calling Jamie again. He had been thinking about doing about doing so for a while, knowing that Jamie would want to know, but not knowing how his father would react of Jamie showed up out of the blue and demanded to see her.

Swinging his hockey bag over his shoulder and wiping the tears off of his face, Adam charged out of the locker room as fast as he could, causing him to almost knock Dani to the ground, "It's good to see you, too." She joked as she leaned against the wall.

"Oh, I'm sorry."

Dani raised her eyebrows and looked Adam over. He face was tear streaked and his eyes were puffy and red, "Okay, what happened?" She asked, walking over to him and placing her hand on his arm.

"Nothing." Adam replied.

"Right... And I'm Zulu, Queen of the Dwarf People." Adam chuckled, "Seriously, though, what's the matter?"

Adam sighed, no one could ever get anything passed this girl... Was it wrong that he found that extremely attractive? "Well..." Adam began, "My dad called last night and left a message for me saying that my mom had had an asthma attack and that she was in the hospital... And I Just got the message now, so I don't know how she is now. Plus, I want to call Jamie about it, but my dad would probably flip if he found out that I did, and..." Adam had begun to speak so fast that Dani could tell that he was going into a rant that he shouldn't go into... So to stop him, she pulled him to her and kissed him deeply. Backing away, Dani held her nose for a moment, "Wow. What was that for?" Adam asked.

"You looked like you needed it." Dani replied, "And you were about to start ranting."

"Thanks." Adam said.

"Look, Adam, if you want to call Jamie, then call him. He and your dad have their problems, but they both love your mother. You'd think that they would at least agree to disagree and try to make her feel better." Adam nodded, "And you just need to relax, okay?"

"Okay." Adam replied, placing his arms around Dani and hugging her. She always knew what to say to make him feel better. Hopefully they would get to tell Dean about them in a way that wouldn't get him thrown against a wall, "Have I ever told you that you are absolutely amazing?"

Dani smiled, "I don't know, have you?"

Adam pulled back and said, "You're absolutely amazing." Then he leaned forward and kissed her gently on her cheek. They hugged again before walking out of the building hand in hand, letting go just before they exited the building. Adam walked towards the campus exit and Dani turned towards her dorm building. Both were feeling better then they had been, but had they known that none other then Abigail Johanson, Biff Cole's girlfriend, had seen them. At the moment a little plan was forming in her head to make the Ducks lose that chemistry that they had. And it was a very good plan if she said so herself.

(---------)

Philip Banks sat at his desk, in his office, trying to keep his mind on the case that was currently sitting on the desk. Actually, he wasn't trying to keep his mind on the case, he was trying to keep his mind _off _of the situation his wife was in. She had been stabilized at the hospital, but the doctors had decided that it would be best for her to stay the night, or maybe two, for observation.

Trying so hard to keep his mind on other things, Philip didn't notice when his secretary, Karen, began speaking to him, "Mr. Banks? Mr. Banks? Sir?"

"Um... Yes, Karen?"

"Sir, there is a women here saying that she has to speak with you." Philip was a little confused. Why did Karen sound so timid?

"Uh... Tell her to come back later."

"Yes, sir." Philip sighed and went back to his papers, but he looked up when a commotion came from the other side of the door, "You can't go in there!"

"See if that stops me!" A loud female voice said as footsteps stomped towards his office. The door swung open and in walked a relatively tall women with dark brown hair that was put up in ponytail, "You could do with some more windows in this place." The women joked as Philip stared at her with his jaw dropped open.

"I'm sorry sir!" Karen said as she rushed in the room behind the women, "I'll call security."

"Security?" The women asked, "Well, you certainly are less hospitable then the last time I saw you."

Philip shook his head, "Um... No, Karen. That won't be necessary." Karen nodded and left, while keeping her eyes on the women in a way that suggested she feared the women would pull out a knife.

"Philip?" The women asked.

"Jennifer Foster-Knight? Jen, what are you doing here?" Philip asked.

Jen shrugged, "Apparently scaring the crap out of your secretary." Jen joked, "But that's beside the point, I heard from my niece that Corri was in the hospital because of an asthma attack."

Philip looked down, "That would be correct... But how did your niece know?"

"Alana is a Registered Nurse at the hospital that Corri is at." Philip nodded, "So, Ginny and I went to see her about a couple of hours ago and she told us that the reason she had the attack was because she was so upset that she was 'losing her family'. Care to shed some light on that?"

Philip dropped his pen on the desk and sighed, "I don't think that it's any of your business, Jen."

Jen slammed her hand on Philip's desk, "Damn it, Philip! This is one of my best friends that we are talking about. She told me that Jamie uninvited you to his wedding, Adam and Monica are spending increasing amounts of time away from home, you are spending more time at work then ever, and her parents are saying that she should file for divorce."

Philip stopped dead, "What?" Jen nodded, "She never told me that."

"She didn't want to because she doesn't want one." Philip sighed and ran his hands through his hair, "But I have the feeling that she is wondering whether or not her parent are right."

"Then why doesn't she file?" Philip asked, his voice breaking. He couldn't believe that Corrine would want a divorce.

"Because she loves you." Jen replied, "She always as and she always will. You are the only man that she has ever loved." Philip stared into space, tears threatening to drip down his face, "Is Corri still addicted to Crème Brûlée?"

"She always will be." Philip said.

Jen nodded, "Okay. Goodbye." Jen walked towards the door, but turned around, "Philip, I have one more question." Philip nodded, "What happened to you?" Philip furrowed his eyebrows, "What happened to the family man that would have given anything for his family? The man that would loosen up once and a while? The man that saved two teenage girls from believing that they were worthless and only good enough for slitting their wrists?" Jen pulled back the sleeves on her jacket and slid her bracelets down her arms, showing scars from long ago, "The man that protected two frightened girls from their father." Philip sighed, "Ginny and I have so much to thank you for and I want to help you and Corri as much as I can. _If _I can, let me know." With that she left, leaving Philip to his thoughts.

(---------)

After pacing back and forth in the hospital hallway for the past twenty minutes, Adam finally decided that it was time to enter his mother's room. He walked quietly up to the door and knocked, then he stepped back and waited for a response, "Come in." The familiar voice of his mother called. Sighing in relief, Adam stepped into the room, "Hi, honey."

"Mom?" Adam asked in confusion, staring around the room, "What's going on?"

Corrine sighed, "Of course, you haven't seen them in a while. Adam, do you remember Jen Foster-Knight and Ginny Channel?" Adam thought for a moment and suddenly remembered, causing him to go into a giggle fit, "What?"

"Um... Didn't dad puke all over one of their cars when he was Jamie's age?"

"That was mine." Ginny replied, "I would have made him pay for it anyway, but he offered before I had to forced him to."

"Honey?" Corrine asked, "How did you know that?"

"Jamie and I were going through boxes in his old room when I was 12 and we found one with a bunch of pictures and letters in it." Adam explained, "One of them was a letter expressing 'deep and sincere regret for the event at hand' that never got sent."

"Yeah, because I told him it was stupid to send a letter." Jen mumbled, gaining a slap in the arm from her sister, "Oh, please, you know it would have been stupid to get it."

"I would have had blackmail though." Ginny said.

"You already had it." Corrine broke in, "If his father had found out then he would have been strapped to a rocket and shot off to the moon."

"Hmm." Adam said, walking over and sitting next to his mother, "So, mom, are you okay?"

"Fantastic." Corrine replied, "But I'll be even better when I get my Crème Brûlée. Where is it?"

"It'll be here in a minute." Ginny said, "David's bringing it." Corrine smiled, it was good to know a women who's husband was one of the top chefs in the state.

A few moment's went by without any sound other then breathing from the occupants of the room. That was, until, the sound of someone talking quickly in what seemed like hysterics entered the room, "You know what, you need to chill." A female voice said as a young Asian women turned to Corrine, "Was he this bad as a child?"

"Worse." Corrine and Adam said simultaneously.

"Thanks, Mom." Jamie said. Turning to Adam, he mumbled, "Irritant."

Corrine smiled, "Jamie, what are you doing here?"

"I came to see my mom." Jamie replied.

"How did you get here so fast?" Adam asked, "I called you about two hours ago. It should have taken longer then that."

Thalia smiled, "My dad has two jets."

"Two?" Adam asked. Thalia nodded, "Wow..."

"Oh my god." Ginny and Jen said from their side of the room. They smiled and then Ginny spoke alone, "I remember him from when he was three and runniing around my house naked chasing Alana."

Adam burst into a fit of laughter while Thalia crossed her arms, "Um... Really?" She asked, "I think there are a few things that I would like to know about my fiancé. Who's Alana?"

"My daughter." Ginny replied.

"Honey, I was three." Jamie said in an attempt to defend himself.

Adam couldn't help himself when a more recent memory popped into his head, "But what about the time when you were 18 and your friends were playing joke on you so when you were showering at the pool, they stole all of your clothes and you had you run home naked with one of those floaty donuts that kids play with around your waist."

Jamie turned beet red as Thalia tried to keep from laughing for fear of her breaking a rib. Jamie sighed, "I'm going to kill you, you know that right?"

Adam smiled, "No you won't."

"Why not?" Jamie asked.

"Because my girlfriend would kill _you _if you did. What can I say, I have a good girlfriend." Adam replied.

"Your... What?" Corrine asked as she stared from one son to the next.


	54. Better then Expected

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**Bad Best Friend-** Trust me, I've had more characters then that in a single chapter before... Come to think of it, I think I kind of confused some people at that point. Anyway, I thought some silly and awkward story telling was exactly what was needed. I hoped that it would be like real brothers, so I am glad that you think so!

**AznIntegra-** It's nice to know that you would date Dani if she was a real person. I'll let the person that she is based after know that you feel that way. I did try to make her personality as close formally mentioned person as possible. As for complex... You have no idea. Adam's mom is taking the news that her baby boy has a girlfriend perfectly fine... It was just sort of dumped on her, you know. It will take her a few moments and then she will be squealing with excitement that he found someone and she will badger him for details. Mothers... 'Embarrass Jamie Day'. I never thought about that. It must be!

**PrincessH-** I'm glad that you liked the Dani/Adam interaction. I do want to make them as believable as possible. The person you are speaking of I would assume is Abigail Johanson, Cole's girlfriend. She is a conniving little bitch and she wants to get back at the Ducks for whatever reason, so who knows what she will do. I guess we have to find out... Thanks!

**sphinx005-** Yeah, I hoped that people would enjoy Jamie being embarrassed in front of Thalia, because you know that he wouldn't have told her about that or the stealing of his clothes. You would be correct, Adam did let the cat out of the bag (figuratively speaking, of course). Perhaps in his want to irritate Jamie, he forgot that his mother was in the room... And I think he knows perfectly well how mother gossip works. You're right, Dean really was being an ass when it came to Dani and Adam being together. Hopefully it won't happen like that this time.

Thank you mdgirl18!

(---------)

It had been almost a week since Corrine Banks had had her asthma attack and her ever overprotective husband had begged her to take the week off of work. She had reluctantly agreed when she had been reminded by her eldest son that she would get more mother time in with Monica and she would see Adam more and get to bug him about giving more information about this new girlfriend that he had... Since when did he have a girlfriend and who was she? These were the things that mothers needed to know and she didn't know them. Maybe Adam had told Charlie, then Casey might know. She would have to ask.

A knock came on the bedroom door and Corrine readjusted her reading glasses and replied, "Come in."

"Hello, Mrs. Banks." Claribel said as she entered the room with a platter of breakfast.

Corrine placed the the book that she was reading on her lap and sighed, "Claribel, you didn't need to do that. I could have eaten downstairs."

Claribel shook her head, "No, no. Your staying here for the time being. It was no trouble anyway, so don't you worry about it." She said as she placed the tray in her hands over Corrine's legs and laid the newspaper next to the tray.

Corrine smiled at the young women in front of her, "Claribel, I need to tell you something."

"I'm all ears, Mrs. Banks."

"I heard about your son... Xavier, if I am remembering correctly." Claribel nodded, "I wanted to extend my sympathy... My older sister died of Leukemia." Claribel wanted to thank her, but she couldn't get the words out. Finding out that Xavier had Leukemia was the hardest thing she had ever gone through, "I don't want this to seem like a stereotypical rich women move, but I know that the area of the city that you live in isn't exactly the healthiest, so I want to offer you and Xavier the guest house..." Claribel looked shocked, "I know from personal experience that medical bills can get through the roof, so stay for as long as you like... If you want to."

"Mrs. Banks." Claribel breathed, "I... I don't know what to say."

Corrine smiled, "Just think about my offer and give me an answer when you are ready... And don't feel compelled to accept it if you don't want to. It's just there if you do."

"Thank you, Mrs. Banks." Claribel said as she turned and walked out of the room. Corrine knew that if Claribel did decide to take her offer then Philip would need a little persuading... And if she was good at anything it was persuasion.

(----------)

In usual Duck fashion, all of the hockey players were eating their breakfast and joking around like morons. The night before, Adam had told his teammates about what had happened to his mother and they had been very supportive, particularity of his decision to call Jamie. They all hoped that they would be around to see Mr. Banks' reaction to his oldest son's return.

"Hey, guys." Russ said, causing all of the attention of the group to go to him, "I'm a walrus." They all laughed loudly when they saw Russ with waffle sticks stuck up his nose.

"Hmm... Cleaver." A mousy voice said. The group turned and saw Abigail Johanson looking as bitchy and made up as ever, "Really witty." She flipped her long and bottle red hair (nope, not blonde) and smirked.

"What the hell do you want?" Julie asked, still very pissed off about what Abigail had done and said at the beginning of the year.

Abigail chuckled, "Actually, I wanted to talk to Banks."

"Really?" Adam asked, placing his pop tart back on his plate, "Why is that?"

"I just wanted to congratulate you." A shocked silence enveloped the Duck table. What was she going on about? "I mean, I really was starting to wonder whether or not you actually had the balls to take a stand on something... And you do... Yay!" Adam looked around the table for help about she was talking about, but he just got the same looks in return, "I mean, not many people have the guts to date someone like this psycho's sister." She said, pointing to Dean, "But I guess you do... Unless that little love fest in the Locker Room was something else?"

Adam went pale and Dean looked from him to Abigail. Had he heard that right? Was the Cake-eater dating his sister again? He raised his eyebrows and shrugged while going, "Hmm."

"'Hmm'?" Adam asked mimicking Dean's shrug, "Just 'hmm'?" He mimicked the shrug again.

Dean nodded, "She could do worse... I mean, Dan could be dating someone like Cole... Oh wait," He looked back over to Abigail who had her jaw dropped and her eyes widened indignantly, "He's your boyfriend. Oops." Abigail stomped away in fury and Dean quietly went back to his Cheerios.

Across the table, Adam furrowed his eyebrows... Had that really happened or was this just a wonderful dream that he didn't want to wake up from? Was that Dean Portman giving his permission for Adam to date Dani? Well, maybe not permission, because Dani would have dated him even without 'permission', but that was beside the point. The point was that Adam wasn't being thrown into a wall at the moment and that was a good thing. Adam picked his pop tart back up and began to eat it, the bell ringing just as the uncomfortable silence was getting unbearable. Adam shot up and left while going over what had happened in his head and praying that it had really happened.

Just as Adam prepared to enter his class, a hand grabbed his backpack and threw him into an empty classroom. When Adam finally saw who it was, he panicked. It was Dean... _'Shit... He's going to kill me!' _Adam thought, "Portman? What are you doing?"

"We have a few rules to go over." Dean replied.

"Um... Rules?" Adam asked.

Dean nodded, "Yes, rules. Rules when it comes to dating my sister" Adam gulped, "Rule 1, if you are not a gentleman at all times, I get to hurt you." Adam nodded, he was glad to know that he wasn't getting killed, "Rule 2, you can hold hands, hug, all that jazz, as long as I don't have to see it... If I see it, you have a problem. Rule 3, you break Dani's heart, I break your knees, got it?" Adam nodded, "Good, because I have one final rule." Adam motioned for him to continue, "You know how ancient cultures revered women as goddesses and worshiped them?"

"Yes." Adam replied, somewhat timidly.

"Good, the final rule is if you don't treat Dani like the goddess that she deserves to be treated like, you will be killed... By me." Dean said, "Do you understand all of the rules?"

Adam nodded and Dean smiled while turning to leave, "You know, Portman, even if you hadn't said that, I still would treat her that way. I would do all of those things."

Dean stopped and sighed, "I know, but I also want you to know that I care about my sister and I want her to be happy."

"I know." Adam replied, "She feels the same about you."

* * *

**Okay, this is kind of short, but it gets the point across. I hope you all like it and can forgive me for not writing more. Thank you all for waiting for this chapter. I would have had it up sooner, but I have had a lot to do lately. Thanks again to everyone! **


	55. I Was Not Expecting That

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**PrincessH-** Yes, Dean is a big softy when you look at him hard enough. He's one of my favorite characters to right because you get to do a lot with him. I love the RENT movie too and Aaron Lohr has a fantastic voice. We will be ending this story after a few more important things have happened, but you are correct, we are coming to a close. Thank you!

**sphinx005-** Well, Dean isn't the kind of guy to just shrug off his sister dating someone, he has to set a few ground rules. So, of course he's going to tell Adam that he gets to break his knees if Adam breaks Dani's heart, that's who he is. But we will get on with him and his love life later. Yes, Mrs. Banks is a sweet women, not many people would genuinely give someone a place to stay without asking for something in return. I wanted to make her that kind of person. Thanks!

**AznIntegra-** Dean finally approved! Happiness! I agree that it's fair that Dean gets to break Adam's knees if he breaks Dani's heart and I'm sure that Dean would agree with us... He needs to watch after his sister. Again, I agree with you, Adam is a great guy and won't treat Dani badly. As for Abigail, yup. She got burned. Yes, Dani is based on a real person and she says thanks for the compliment. Although I think her boyfriend was a little taken aback... Oh well.

Thank you mdgirl18!

**----&----**

Adam sat in the kitchen counter top in his house, watching Claribel cook Jamie's favorite food, Jerk Chicken and cheese quesadillas. When Adam was younger he had always watched Claribel cook and sometimes he got to help, "So, you think this is still Jamie's favorite?" Claribel asked.

"Yeah." Adam replied, "He said so... You don't have anything to worry about."

"What about his fiancée?" Claribel asked worriedly.

"She likes spicy food as hot as she can get it." Adam said, "I think she said something about it has to do with fire eating... Or something."

"Fire eating?" Claribel asked.

"Apparently."

"Um." Claribel replied, "Xavier, come here." She called out the open window towards the open window of the guest house. Almost immediately a small boy around the age of 8 bounded out of the guest house and entered the main house with a smile on his face. He pulled off his hat showing his bald head, "What have you been doing?"

"I was drawing for the girls in the cancer ward." He admitted, "They said that they wanted some pictures."

Adam raised his eyebrows, "He's eight and he's already a ladies man." Adam chuckled as Claribel swatted his shoulders, "What?"

Claribel opened her mouth to respond, but she was cut off by two figures entering the house, "Holy Christ it's cold." Thalia said, "We are not moving out of Nevada after we get married if that is what you are thinking."

"Honey, I thought your father owned a penthouse in Boston? Did you think that it would be warm here if it wasn't there?" Jamie asked as he pulled off his jacket.

"Did I think it would be warm? Um... no. But I plan on being as warm as possible for the rest of my life." Thalia said, shaking her hair out of her face, "As for the penthouse, whenever I visited that particular property, I never stayed for that long and we only ever visited Boston during the summer. We stopped visiting that house when I was 11, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." Jamie said sheepishly. Jamie turned to his brother and smacked him in the head, "So where is that girlfriend that I need to meet?"

Adam fixed his hair and scoffed, "I don't know where she is at the moment, but even if I did, I wouldn't tell you because you aren't going to meet her."

"And why not?" Jamie asked.

"For the same reason that you weren't too hyped about your family meeting me." Thalia said, "Embarrassing stories... Like having to run home from the pool naked."

"Ha." Claribel said, "I remember that. You were so skinny and pale."

Thalia chuckled and Jamie sighed, "Thanks, Claribel. I really appreciate the input."

"I know you do." Claribel replied.

"Zachary ran out of the ward naked when the doctors said they had to do more tests." Xavier said while eating some orange segments, "Then he bit the nurse."

(----------)

All of his life he had dealt with the rumors. He had been the center of plenty of them, but they all seemed to go back to the same thing... Even when he came to Eden Hall... Not that he expected any different. Eden Hall was full of closed minded peopled who would start a rumor for the sake of starting a rumor. Although he had to admit, being a male figure skated made him an easy target for people who believed the stereotype of being all male figure skaters being gay. Ken Wu had gotten use to it.

Nowadays Ken devoted the majority of his time to hockey, understandably, but when he had first head that there would be other figure skaters at Eden Hall, he was ecstatic, even more so when he meet them. Tammy was your typical figure skating princess who liked pink... But he had a thing of bad boys and had actually managed to have a relationship with one that was more then a fling. Gia was a Southern Bell to be sure, but she didn't mind picking up a football and roughing around with the guys. Dani, however, was someone that could hardly be categorized. She was smart, funny, athletic, and sweet but if you got her mad she would kill you, not to mention she could see through anything that anyone lied about. Adam was a very lucky man, hopefully he wouldn't blow it.

As a Bash Brother, it was his job to look after Tammy and Dani for Dean and Fulton... It was just the icing on the cake that they could talk about things like figure skating and not get looks that asked if he was gay or not. Luckily figure skaters know that not all male skaters are gay.

Sometimes when Ken was alone or bored it was good to be able to talk to people who were interested in _all_ of the things he liked, not just _some_ of them, "Kenny!" A voice said as he walked towards the exit of his dorm room.

"Hey Dani, Tammy." He replied with a smile.

"Uh... Why is she first?" Tammy said in a mock-preppy voice.

"It's called 'Alphabetical Order', dear." Dani replied in a patronizing voice. Tammy stuck out her tongue, causing Ken to laugh, "Anyway, Ken I was wondering if you had seen Adam."

Ken shook his head, "I think he went to see his mom. After she had her asthma attack, Adam wanted to help her some more. Plus, I think he promised to help move their housekeeper and her son into the guest house."

"Aw." Dani said, "That's sweet."

"That it is." Tammy replied, "What about Fulton?"

"Um..." Ken said, "If I remember correctly he had a lot of things to do for his mom... Either that or he wanted to look up more on that Doctor that his mother has been interested in."

"You mean Dr. Kowalski?" Tammy asked.

"That would be the one." Ken replied.

"And where are you going?" Dani asked.

"To send a letter." Ken said. It would have been a mundane sort of activity to admit to, but when Ken replied he looked nervous and panicked like he was hiding something it changed from mundane to interesting.

"To who?" Tammy asked, noticing Ken's reaction.

"No body." Ken replied.

"Then why are you sending a letter?" Dani asked again. "Okay, look. If you hadn't looked like you were going to jail when you answered in the question in the first place, we wouldn't have pressed the issue."

"Kenny?" Tammy pouted.

Ken tried to look away, her pouts were hard to resist... He had a feeling that Fulton had fallen pray to them several times before, "Um..." Ken said, "A person. Yeah, I'm sending it to a person."

"Ken?" Dani asked, "Would this have to do with our previous conversation about you needing a girlfriend and you denying that you need one?"

"Maybe." Ken said, causing Tammy and Dani to squeal, "Jeez, why do girls squeal so much?"

"Who else knows you have a girlfriend?" Dani asked.

"No one ever asks!" Ken exclaimed, "She lives in San Fransisco, so no one here has met her."

"Now you have to give us details, you know that right?" Dani asked as Ken rolled his eyes, "All of the details that we won't tell anyone about." Tammy nodded in agreement and pretended to zip and lock her lips shut.

"Do you really need to know?" Ken asked. Both girls nodded vigorously, "If I must." He replied. Ken pulled his wallet out of his pants pocket and ruffled through it. After finding what he was looking for, Ken pulled out the picture that he was looking for. He handed to the girls and smiled when their jaws dropped, "What?" He asked.

"Damn." Dani said, "I never took you for a guy that liked this kind of girl."

"What's that suppose to mean?" Ken asked, but not in a bad way.

"Well, she's... different." Tammy said.

Ken chuckled, "You mean she's an artsy girl with black and pink hair, a nose and a labret piercing, and a closet full of black clothes?" Tammy and Dani nodded, "Well, that's what I like about her."

"Are you sure it's not the fact that she has enormous boobs?" Tammy asked sarcastically.

"They aren't that big." Ken retorted, turning slightly red.

"Aw... Ken's all embarrassed." Dani said, "What's her name?" Ken mumbled something, but it was illegible to both girls, "What?"

Ken sighed, "Maybelle."

"That's pretty." Both girls said just before Dani squealed with indigence. Turning, Dani sighed at the sighed of Adam and slapped him on the arm.

"What was the for?" Adam asked, rubbing his arm.

"For tickling me." Dani replied. She smiled at Adam and waved once she noticed that he was not alone. Coming in just after Adam had 'attacked' her was Mrs. Banks, Jamie, and Thalia, who waved back.

Ken looked around, "I will take this opportunity to leave." He said, "I'll see you later." He finished. As he walked passed Adam, Ken raised his index finger and middle finger to his eyes and then pointed them to Adam's, leaving the poor guy very confused. Tammy sighed and waved, following Ken out, hoping to find more information about where Fulton was.

"Um... what was that?" Adam asked once Ken was completely out of the door.

Dani sighed, "That was Ken being the little Bash Brother." She said, "He's being loyal to Dean by looking out for me and that was him looking out for me."

Adam sighed, "That's great. First I get the 'Rules' speech that include something about breaking my knees and then Ken gets to... do whatever that was."

"Wait a minute." Jamie said, "Does that mean that you are the girlfriend?" Dani nodded slowly, "It's about freaking time." He almost yelled, causing his fiancée and his mother to jump back.

"Honey." Thalia said, "Please calm down. You reacted this way the last time you found out that they were dating."

"What?" Corrie asked, "This is saddening. I've missed so much."

"Mom..." Adam said.

Jamie's face lit up like a Christmas Tree, "Hey, Dani. Has Adam ever told you about the time that he ate an entire box of Crayola Crayons and danced around the living room while singing the names of the colors as he spit the crayons out on the carpet." Adam turned extremely pale.

"Um... no. He never mentioned that." Dani said.

"Oh, I've got a million of them." Jamie said.

"And I have a better idea." Thalia said, "Corrine, why don't you, Dani, and I go out for a while... Just us girls... If one minds."

"I have no qualms." Dani said. Corrine shook her head, but both of her sons looked petrified, "Oh, stop worrying." Dani said to the boys, "I'm sure she won't embarrass you."

"Of course I won't." Corrine said. Dani and Thalia waved goodbye to Adam and Jamie and left with Corrine.

"Should we be worried?" Adam asked.

"Um... I don't know." Jamie replied.


	56. Going to Philly

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**NikChic-** Thank you, I am glad that you enjoyed the last chapter. I am especially happy that you liked the thing that Kenny did with the eyes, I was hoping someone would. That's what a good friend of mine did to his little sister's boyfriend... I think the boyfriend nearly peed in his pants. Anywho, you can't smother Adam in hugs and kisses yet, I still need him for the story and I would be sad if he was smothered. Thanks again!

**AznIntegra-** Yes, mothers do tend to be slightly unhelpful in the reputation-keeping department... I have a few friends who know from personal experience... They always tell me because I'm their 'shrink'. I'm sure that Dani and Thalia will have no problem having a little blackmail, if the get any. As for the person that Dani is based after, her boyfriend took it as a compliment, he was just a little confused because he didn't know the whole story about who wanted to date his girlfriend. He's gotten over it. Thanks!

A very large THANK YOU is due to PrincessH. So, thank you very much!

(---------)

Adam and Jamie sat very quietly in the living room of the Banks home. So quietly, in fact, that they were starting to scare Monica quite a lot. Philip was just shocked by the fact that his eldest son was sitting in the living room. Monica, who was getting fed up with the silence, looked from one brother to the other and sighed, "What are you two doing?" She asked.

"Nothing." The boys replied back quickly.

"Welcome back, Jamie." Philip said, trying to sound as pleasant as possible, knowing that he would have to at least try to get along with his oldest son for his wife's sake. And contrary to popular belief he did love Jamie, he just had a hard time communicating with him on a level that didn't include yelling at each other at the top of their lungs. Now that he thought about it, they were a lot himself and his father, and that scared him.

"Hi." Jamie said lowly as he shot his gaze back to the door.

"Are you two waiting for something?" Monica asked.

"Yes." They replied in unison.

"What?" She asked as if surprised that they didn't tell her to begin with. Jamie and Adam just shook their heads and brushed her off, causing a very indignant expression to grace her face. However, as quickly as Monica's face became indignant, it became confused as the front door opened and both of her brothers immediately looked extremely alert and even more worried, "Huh?" She asked herself.

The whole family watched as Corrine walked into the room looking slightly different from when they had last seen her. Philip gaped at his wife, she looked like she was 23 again, "Corrine?"

"Hello, dear. I didn't know that you were coming home early tonight." Corrine replied. Monica smiled at the way her mother looked. Even as a 10 year old, she knew that her mother hadn't been very happy over the last few months and now she did, "Monica? Why are you staring?"

"You look pretty." Monica said.

"We know." Two voices said behind Corrine. Adam and Jamie's eyes widened as they saw Thalia and Dani slapping palms behind their mother. Both of them knew that their respective significant other had been the reason behind their mother's makeover of sorts. Monica seemed especially happy to see Thalia and Dani, while Philip was just plain confused about what was going on.

"Dear..." Philip said, "Um... you look great, you really do."

"Thank you." Corrine replied.

Dani sighed, "Now lets just calm down those sons of yours and this might be slightly more enjoyable." She said, "Because you two look like your about to die of... something."

"Right..." Jamie said, "Now, during your little girl time... What did you talk about?"

"Jamie, honey." Thalia said, "Chill, okay."

"Seriously." Dani added, "You don't have anything to worry about. It's not like any embarrassing stories were told." Okay, only half true. Stories weren't told, but when Dani found a picture of a goose biting Adam's nose, she had to ask, "Um, just wondering, do you still hate geese?"

"Oh, no!" Adam yelled, burying his face into a pillow, "Mom!"

"I found the picture and asked." Dani said, defending Mrs. Banks, "So relax for a second."

Jamie laughed at Adam's misfortune, "Hey, don't laugh because you didn't exactly come off smelling like a rose." Thalia said, "Do the names David and Mollie Rousseau mean anything to you?" Jamie stared at his fiancée for a moment, then he turned around on the couch and sunk down for a moment, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"If it's and consolation, I was only 15." Jamie said.

"Exactly. You were _only _15." Thalia said.

After a few moments of silence, Dani cleared her throat, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but I have to go."

Corrine turned, "Are you sure?" She asked, "We would love if you stayed for dinner. Wouldn't we?" She asked the her family. Monica nodded vigorously while everyone else in the room replied in a polite and small fashion.

Dani thought for a moment, "I would super love to, but I have to pack."

"Pack?" Adam asked, "Where are you going?"

Dani furrowed her eyebrows, "I told you. I have a show in Philadelphia in a week and I'm staying there for about a week and a half."

"Why so long?" Adam asked.

"My Aunt lives there and I haven't seen her since I was almost 6." Dani said, "So I am going to visit her."

"That's nice." Corrine said, "Have a good time."

"Thank you, Mrs. Banks." Dani replied, "I'll see you guys later." She waved while walking backwards towards the door. She turned on her heel and opened the door and, with a final wave, she left.

Thalia smiled and walked over to Adam and pat him on the shoulder, "Good choice." She said.

(----------)

Dani looked around the room that had been home for more then six months. After the show in Philadelphia she was coming back, but it just felt weird to be leaving. She couldn't even imagine what it would be like to go back so Chicago... She wouldn't be able to see Adam at almost whatever time she wanted and that was a very upsetting thought. But she did get to see her Aunt Mickie and that is something that she wanted ever since she was 6.

"Hey." Tammy's voice said, snapping Dani out of her daydream, "Ready to go?"

"Yeah." Dani said, "I am."

Tammy chuckled, "Your going to miss him, aren't you? I mean, not just now, but when you go back to Chicago?." Dani nodded, "I figured. With me and Fulton, I get to see him pretty much whenever I want and I will be able to."

Dani furrowed her eyebrows, "Your moving back with your parents?"

"Yup." Tammy said, "So is Tommy. We decided that we miss Minnesota too much and, even though I will have to deal with my mother, I will get to be with Fulton. So I think I can get through it."

"What about Tommy?"

"Well, he has his reasons." Tammy said, "The main one being that dad wants to pull him into the family business. Luckily, Tommy is more competent the people that dad has to deal with, so he doesn't have that far to go."

"Wait a minute." Dani said, "Isn't your dad a plastic surgeon?"

"Yup." Tammy replied, "That's where mom got her stuff done."

"Wow..." Dani said, "I never thought of Tommy as a surgeon, much less a plastic surgeon."

"I know, but he took to science when he was in, like, the 6th grade." Tammy said, "Which is surprising after what happened."

"Uh... what happened." Dani asked.

Tammy sighed, "Well, when we were in the sixth grade, Tommy was answering questions about molecules and he was asked what did the 'H' in H2O stand for and he said hydrogen. Then he was asked what did H2O make up and he was told that it made up the majority of the human body and Tommy replied 'pizza'." Dani laughed, "I know, it's easy to see him saying something like that."

"Just a little." Dani replied.

"I mean, it was just a joke, but it was very Tommy."

"Yeah." Dani replied, "It is." She pulled her carry-on bag over her shoulder and smiled, "We have to go, though." Tammy nodded and pulled her bag over her shoulder as well, and the two friends walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. As the opened the door to leave, both of their jaws dropped as the saw all of the Ducks standing there, waiting to see them off, "Oh my god."

"Well, you didn't think you could leave without saying goodbye, did you?" Dean asked, walking over to his sister and pulling her into a big bear hug, "Didn't think so." Fulton walked over to Tammy and kissed her before hugging her. All of the Ducks took their turns to say goodbye to Dani and Tammy, but when Adam wanted to say goodbye to Dani, Dean felt the tension and sighed, "Well, I've just gone blind. I can't see a thing."

"You better have." Dani said. Adam smirked and pulled Dani into a deep hug before kissing her gently, making sure that he didn't hurt her nose, "I'm going to kill Gunnar and Gala's father."

"I feel the same way." Gala's accented voice said from next to the building. She and Gunnar had stayed in America so that they didn't have to see him. Plus it seemed that he had insulted the President of Iceland in some way or another, "But I think that government might want the same thing."

"Um... fun." Dani replied.

"Just wondering, Dani." Gala said, "Gunnar is being shy and embarrassed, so I was wondering whether or not you would give him Leah's phone number or something."

Dani scoffed, "I was wondering when he would ask about that. Jeez."

"Well, that's who he is. If he's not checking someone, then he's quiet and shy and he wants to be left alone." Gala said. If the Ducks had heard that a few months ago, they wouldn't have believed if, but now that the knew that he was actually a pretty nice guy, their beliefs had changed.

"That's sweet." Tammy said, "So, he has a car and is taking us to the airport?" Gala nodded, "Cool. Well, I'm ready to go as soon as you guys are."

"Yeah, we should get going." Dani said, hugging Adam one more time, "I'll see you guys in about a week and a half."

"About five days for me." Tammy said, "Bye."

"Bye!" The Ducks replied back, "We'll miss you!"


	57. Surprising Doesn't Begin to Cover It

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**AznIntegra-** Yes, blackmail... It's a very fun thing to have. I am sure that you are right about Thalia and Dani loving having blackmail over Jamie and Adam. The person that Dani is based after is actually my sister and she thanks you. Her boyfriend knows he's lucky. But, anyway, I have absolutely no idea how I got stuck as the group shirk... I don't even know when they decided that I could help them with their problems considering I have just as many as them! But, whatever. Thanks!

**NikChic-** I'm glad that you loved this chapter as well. I was hoping that the awkward silence between Jamie and Adam would be enjoyed... And it was! YAY! As for Dean's 'I've gone blind...' line, that just seems like something that a brother who was trying to be happy for his sister would say when she wanted to kiss her boyfriend. Thank you!

**Mrs. St. John Allerdyce-** The end? Absolutely not! There are still a few important things that need to be written. It's not the end, but it is the close... The end won't come for a little while. Thanks, I'm glad you like!

A big THANK YOU to PrincessH!

(---------)

It was the day of figure skating show in Philadelphia and the Ducks were very excited to watch it. Before meeting Dani and Tammy, the majority of the Ducks wouldn't have though twice about figure skating, even after meeting Kenny. But ever since meeting Dani and Tammy all of them found that they enjoyed the sport.

Due to the mass amounts of people that were watching, and the fact that the Banks' were out of town for the weekend and told Adam that they didn't want anyone over while they were gone, Piper had offered to let them come over to her house. Julie knew that Piper and her mother were watching anyway, so she figured that it would be the best solution that any of the Ducks would have been able to think of. And it's not like Piper's house was out of anyone's way, after all.

"Mom." Piper said as she entered the kitchen, "What are we going to have for snacking when the Ducks come over."

"Yeah." Julie said, following her younger sister, "The Ducks are pigs."

Julie, Piper, and Jada snorted at Julie's comment, "Well, I figured popcorn for the first hour and then we would go from there." Julie and Piper nodded, "And I have no doubt that they are pigs, Julie. The majority of them are teenage boys."

"But teenage girls eat a lot, too." Piper said, "Unless they are the kind of girls that go to Eden Hall... Then they eat nothing." Julie nodded in agreement.

Jada scowled, "If I ever find out that you two..."

"NO!" Julie and Piper screamed at the same time, almost causing their mother to drop the bowl she was holding.

"Food is good." Piper added.

Julie nodded again, "You've got nothing to worry about, mom."

"Okay, that's all I wanted to know." She replied. At that moment, the doorbell rang and the mother/daughter trio couldn't help but laugh at the sounds of arguing Ducks that they could hear even through the door, "I wonder what that's all about."

"Knowing the Ducks, "Julie said, "Something really stupid. But whatever." Julie and Piper shrugged to each other and Piper opened the door. However, when she saw that Dean and Fulton were joking around with each other and pushing one another, and that Dean was teetering very precariously, she jumped out of the way. However, just as she moved, Dean fell. He managed to turn himself, but he couldn't stop, so he landed smack dab on Julie!

Once Dean noticed he was on top of Julie he thought _'Holy shit! How did I get here?'_, but all he manged to get out was, "Um... Hi, Julie."

"Hey, Dean." Julie choked out. Piper just stared, amazed at the fact that those two were so incredibly into each other and they had, as if by fate, had ended up in that kind of position. Dean finally got it through his head that he shouldn't be where he was and he stood up, helping Julie to her feet as he did so, "Thanks." Julie said, still embarrassed.

Piper managed to keep herself from laughing, but she gave herself a mental note to call Dani as soon as she could. There is no way that Dani would forgive her if she didn't hear about this. Fulton, who seemed to be forgotten in the whole situation, was standing in the doorway with his eyebrows raised. He hadn't meant for that to happen, but it did. And probably for the better because this tango that Dean and Julie were dancing around each other was really starting to get on his nerves. Not only that, he was positive that only he, Dani, and Piper even noticed said tango... How was that even possible? They were completely obvious!

"So..." Piper said, breaking a momentary silence, "Where is everyone else? The show is starting in, like," She checked her watch, "25 minutes."

Fulton looked backwards out the door, "Here they come." Piper raised her eyebrows and looked out the door as well. She chuckled as a disgruntled Connie picked up a snowball and threw it at one of the boys surrounding her. It was possibly Luis, but from that distance it kind of looked like Ken or even Charlie... Nope, it was Luis.

"That had ice in it!" He cried as he rubbed the side of his face.

Guy, being ever protective, snapped back, "Well, if you hadn't but snow down the back of her shirt, she wouldn't have thrown it at you."

"Charlie dared me!" Luis said, "It wasn't a lot of snow anyways."

"Luis, do you want her to kill you?" Russ asked. Luis shook his head, "Then take what ya got and don't complain about it, because you know she will." He shook his head and walked ahead, "Man, I hate the cold." He mumbled as he entered the house, "Hello, all."

"Hi, Russ." Dean, Piper, Julie, and Fulton replied. The rest of the Ducks followed him in and the door was closed behind Averman, who was the last one in.

"So," Piper said, "The big screen is down stairs in the basement. Who wants to go down now?" The Ducks immediately called out in agreement, causing Piper and Julie to have to close their ears with their fingers. Once the screaming was over, Piper shook her head quickly and sighed, "Well, I wasn't expecting that, but whatever."

Julie nodded, "We do that all the time." She said, shrugging off her friends reactions, "Mom, we're going down to the basement."

"Okay." Jada replied, "Could you and Piper help me bring the stuff down stairs." Julie and Piper nodded.

"We'll be down there in a minute." Julie said, "You know where the door is." The Ducks nodded and Julie and Piper went into the kitchen with their mother to help her carry all of the popcorn that they were going to eat. After making the popcorn, they gathered it in their arms and walked down to the basement. Jada and Piper sat down on one of the love seats that was in one corner of the basement and Julie took a seat next to Dean, a fact that was not missed by her sister. Yet again, Piper gave herself a mental note to call Dani. Piper picked up the remote control and turned the television on as she picked up a kernel of popcorn and popped it in her mouth.

**(Authors Note: **Just in case you all want to know, I am not going to put the show in this chapter because it's not all that important. I'm sorry if anyone disagrees or wanted to read it, but it's not going to be here.

(------------)

Dani sat on her bed in the hotel room that she was sharing with Tammy and looked through a phone book, hoping to find her Aunt Mickie's address. How many Mickelle Portman's could live in Philadelphia, anyway? "Why don't you just look on the Internet or something?" Tammy asked as she modeled a dress in the mirror.

"Because I like doing things the hard way." Dani replied.

"Whatever." Tammy sighed, "Do you think that Fulton was watching?"

Dani rolled her eyes, "I can pretty much guaran-damn-tee it, Tams." She replied, "Dean called and told me that the Ducks were going to watch it at Piper's house."

"Oh." Tammy said, "Well, that's good."

"Yup, it is." Dani said, not taking her eyes of the phone book, "Oh, there it is!" Tammy turned and looked over Dani's shoulder, "South 7th Street." Dani pulled out a pen and wrote the address on a post-it. "It's a good thing that Mickelle isn't that common of a name."

"Not common?" Tammy asked, "That's the understatement of the century. Until you told me her name, I'd never heard of it before." Dani nodded and placed the phone book back under the phone and stood up, "I'll see you later, I'm going to bed."

"I'll be quiet when I come back in."

"Thanks." Tammy said, "I'm exhausted."

Dani nodded, "Plus your mom is being a major pain in the ass... But, then again, that's just who she is." Tammy nodded and headed towards the bathroom, "See you tomorrow."

"Night." Tammy replied.

Dani waited until Tammy closed the bathroom door before she pulled on her trench coat, the one that had been her Aunt Mickie's, and walked out the door. The sun was just starting to go down and Dani knew that she wasn't going too far, so she didn't bother to worry about being alone in the dark. Besides, she had been to Philadelphia before and wasn't all that worried. Rereading the address on the post-it that she had written the address on, Dani sighed. She remembered what had happened between her father and Aunt Mickie all too vividly; she may have only been nearing 6, but the words that had been exchanged rang through her ears as if it had only been a few hours as opposed to 10 years.

_**Flashback:** "Kal, please, you can't leave me with them." 16 year old Mickelle Portman begged her 32 year old brother, "Why can't I stay?" Her large brown eyes welled with tears, why wouldn't he do this for her? He had had to live with their parents too, so why couldn't he understand that she needed to get away._

"_Mickie, it's the principle of the thing." Kal replied, "I lived with mom and dad, I know what they are like, you have a lot more in New York then them. It wouldn't be good for you to move here." _

"_But I like it here." Mickie replied, "Chicago is an awesome place. But that's beside the point. I have to work for them just as hard and you did and I can't take it anymore. I don't know how you survived 18 years, but please don't make me do this anymore." _

_Kal sighed, "Mick, I can't." Tears now dripped down Mickie's face. 6 year old Dani watched her father and aunt argue from the doorway to the kitchen, "Mom and dad would have the courts bring you back to New York. I don't want to give you false hope that you would be able to stay, because you can't." _

"_Then help me fight for it." Mickie replied, "If we work together then we can convince the courts to let me stay with you." _

"_Mickie, look." Kal said, "I want you here, but it won't work. Not just because of mom and dad, but because of what Alyssa and I are going through. I mean, we just had a baby and we just moved to a new house. Alec, Dean, and Dani need to get readjusted... We just can't." _

"_Oh." Mickie said, "That's how it is. I'm just the little sister, so I don't mean anything." _

"Mickie, that's not..."

"_But, whatever. I'll get use to the fact that my brother doesn't love me as much as I thought." Kal tried to protest, but Mickie cut him off, "I'll see you around... Dickhead." Not even bothering to put on her jacket, Mickie ran out of her brother's home and didn't look back. _

"_Oh, God." Kal said as tears formed in his eyes. He turned to his car keys off of the key rack, but he then noticed his daughter, staring at him with eyes that reminded him so much of his wife and his sister, "Dani." _

"_Daddy." Dani said, clutching her favorite stuffed bear, "Is Aunt Mickie mad at me?" _

_Kal gaped for a moment, "Of course not, sweetie." He replied, "No, she's not made at you." A tear dripped down his cheek and Dani walked over to him and wiped of the next one that was ready to fall. Kal chuckled and held out his arms, letting his only daughter run into them and hug him. Kal hugged her back and kissed her on the cheek before carrying her back up to bed. **:End Flashback.**_

Not realizing that she was already were she needed to be, Dani nearly passed the building that she was looking for. It was a fairly tall apartment building that was made of brick, but the color of the brick was faded and showed that the building wasn't the newest on the block. Dani walked up on the stoop and pressed the button for the intercom to her aunt's apartment, "Hello?" A female voice asked.

For a moment, Dani was stunned. She sounded almost exactly the same, the only difference was that she sounded slightly older, "Um..." Dani managed, "Aunt Mickie?"

There was a momentary pause, "Who is this?" Mickie asked.

"Dani." Dani replied, "Your only niece."

"Dani?" Mickie asked, "How can I be sure?"

Dani sighed, she should have seen this coming, "Well, other then the fact that I made the trench coat that you left in Chicago my own, I don't know."

"Just a sec." Mickie said after a long moment of shock on her part. A few minutes later, Dani heard the sound of footsteps coming down the narrow staircase, "Oh my god." Mickie said as she saw Dani for the first time in a long time. She had seen her on the television many times, particularly in the past year, but seeing her person was very different.

"Oh _my _God." Dani retaliated, noticing a very significant thing... That her Aunt was pregnant and ready to pop and any moment, "What is this, the year of the pregnant women?"

"What?" Mickie asked.

Dani shook her head, "A lot of people that I know are, or have been, pregnant as of late." Then she smiled, "But it's great to see you."

Mickie smiled and leaned in to hug Dani. Dani returned the hug, "Come on in." Mickie said, "We don't need to stand outside in the dark." Dani nodded and followed her inside. Dani noticed that not only did Mickie sound almost the same, besides her large stomach, she looked almost the same as well. Dani walked up three flights of stairs behind her Aunt and smiled when she entered the apartment, "What?"

"Nothing." Dani replied, "It's just that this looks almost exactly like my room." She said, noticing the very oriental theme that was evident throughout the entire apartment.

Mickie smiled, "Well, it's nice to know that at least one person in this family has a little bit of style." She sat down on a very large chair, "Well, sit. I can say that you won't find a more comfortable chair then that one." She pointed to the slightly smaller chair to her left. Dani sat down and wanted to say something to her, but all she could do was stare at her stomach, "What? What's wrong?"

Dani shook her head, "It's nothing, it's just that I didn't expect to see you exactly like this."

Mickie nodded, "You mean pregnant?" Dani nodded hesitantly, "Well, it's not exactly like I called and told anyone." She said, clearly feeling very upset about that fact, "But I can't wait for this baby come out." Dani nodded that was understandable for a women who was so close to being due, "Then I won't have to deal with it's father anymore..." Dani cringed, bad relationship, "Or it's mother." That caught Dani off guard.

"What?" Dani asked.

Mickie sighed, but she didn't seem to hear her niece, "They are so bitter... But they're old, so whatever."

"What?" Dani asked again, this time more confused then ever.

"Oh." Mickie replied, finally remembering that Dani didn't have the slightest clue what was going on, "I'm sorry, Dani. I'm a surrogate. The parents are an older couple that couldn't have kids on their own."

Dani thought for a second, "Ew." She said, "Old people doing the dirty..." Mickie slapped her hand to her forehead, she really didn't need to think about that kind of thing, "I really shouldn't have brought that up."

"And really didn't need to hear that." Mickie replied.

"Sorry." Dani apologized, "But I was wondering if you had any mementos from when you were younger. I always kind of wondered what you did after you left Chicago."

Mickie nodded, "A lot." She replied as she stood and pulled down two photo albums. Dani scooted over to get a better look. Mickie took the smaller of the two and opened it, immediately pointing out two pictures, "Those were taken by an old friend of mine from New York. His name was Mateo and at this moment he was helping me move out of my parents house... Well, actually it was more like I needed to get the hell out of there, so I left."

"Fun." Dani replied, "Dad explained your parents well... And that makes me glad that I never had to meet them."

"Yeah, you're lucky that you didn't." Mickie replied, turning the page, "That was me and, again, Mateo at our High School graduation. God I was happy, I hated high school."

"I like high school, personally." Dani replied, "But, I know a few people who really, really, _really _hate high school." Mickie nodded, "Actually, Daddy has convinced his share of kids to stay in school."

"Really?" Mickie asked, "Is that a fact?" Dani nodded, "Well, that's Kal for you. He has always had a need to be a do-gooder." Dani nodded again and Mickie turned the page, but at the back of the photo album, a picture fell out. Dani leaned down and picked it up, but couldn't help but look at it, and it shocked her. In the picture was Mickie, obviously, and she looked extremely happy. A smile graced her face and she had her arm around another women. The women had creamy white skin that contrasted greatly with Mickie's darkened Latina skin and she was smiling as well. Her hair was deep red, but not so deep that it looked fake.

"Aunt Mickie?" Dani asked.

"Um?" Mickie asked, looking up from the photo album.

"Who is this?" Dani asked, turning the picture around so that Mickie could see that front of it. As soon she saw it, all of the blood left her face and she looked very close to tears, "Aunt Mickie?"

"Um..." Mickie replied, "That's Evelyn Holtz."

"And?" Dani asked.

"We... _were_ together."

"Oh..." Dani replied, getting the point that her aunt had made. 10 years certainly changed people and apparently there were a few changes that needed to be discussed, "You're a lesbian." Mickie nodded, "Well, Doe's going to love you..."

"Who?" Mickie asked, wiping tears from her eyes.

"My friend Doe... Actually his name is Oliver, but we call him Doe because his last name is Adoeben, A-D-O-E-B-E-N. So, we call him Doe." Mickie was still a little confused, "He's gay and whenever someone comes out he's the first person to congratulate them."

Mickie laughed, "Really?"

"Yeah." Dani replied. She was about to say more when her phone vibrated in her pants pocket, "Just a sec." She said as she pulled out the phone, "Hello?" She said.

"You are fully aware that your brother and my sister are tremendously into each other, right Dani?" Piper asked, "Because if you aren't then I will have to worry about your title as Cupid."

"Nice to talk to you too, Piper." Dani said, "And for your information, I've noticed that Dean and Julie were into each other for a while now." Dani looked over to Mickie, who looked completely confused.

"Oh, good." Piper replied, "Then I don't have to worry about you." She said, "Buy didn't get to see Dean literally fall on top of Julie this afternoon."

"I missed... What?" Dani said, "I want details!"

"Well, Dean and the Ducks were coming over to my place to watch the show, good job by the way." Piper said.

"Thanks."

"But when Dean and Fulton got to the door, they were joking around and Fulton knocked Dean over, nearly on top of me, but I moved out of the way. Julie, however, had no clue was as going on and Dean fell smack dab on top of her... Then there was this big awkward silence and then he got off of her." Piper said, "But when we were watching the show, I couldn't help but notice that Julie sat right next to Dean."

"Really?" Dani asked, "Those two are just getting really infuriating."

"_Getting_?" Piper asked, "They already were!" Dani nodded and groaned in agreement, "I have to get off, so I'll see you when you get back. Bye."

"Bye, Pi." Dani replied as she hung up, "What?" Dani asked when she looked back at Mickie.

"What was all of that about?" Mickie asked.

Dani shook her head, "It's nothing." Mickie raised her eyebrows, "That was Piper Gaffney, she's Julie Gaffney's sister. Julie and Dean play hockey together and both of us know that they have the hots for each other."

"Really?" Mickie said, "Julie Gaffney? The girl that saved the last shot of the Junior Goodwill Games." Dani nodded, "Well, that's certainly... interesting."

"They're super annoying because it's completely obvious."

"I knew a few people like that." Mickie replied, "But speaking of Dean, I haven't seen him for 10 years, does he still look the same?"

"I don't know," Dani said, "You tell me." She pulled out her wallet and took out a picture of her entire family and held it out for Mickie to take. Mickie took the picture and Dani leaned over, "That's mom and dad, obviously." She said, pointing to her parents, "And that's Alec."

"Wow." Mickie said, "He's grown."

"Yup." Dani replied, "And there is Dean." She said pointing to Dean, "And me next to him..."

"He looks exactly like Kal when he was 16." Mickie said.

"I know, I saw a lot of daddy's old pictures." Dani replied, "And that's Caleb."

Mickie stared in shock, "The baby?"

Dani shook her head, "He's not a baby anymore." She replied, "He's even had his first kiss." Mickie smirked and furrowed her eyebrows, "Dean's coach's daughter."

"Are you serious?" Mickie asked, stupified.

"Unfortunately." Dani replied, "And it doesn't help that she is also my coach's niece." Mickie let out a low whistle, "Yeah, I know." Mickie chuckled and Dani looked back at the picture, "And that's Felix, he's two."

"Damn..." Mickie said, "Another one?" Dani nodded, "I was always the one that wanted a lot of kids and my brother beat me to it." Dani nodded and Mickie smiled at the happy family in the picture. So when she abruptly looked like she was in pain, Dani was somewhat confused, "Dani..."

"Uh?" Dani asked, "Aunt Mickie? Please tell me that that isn't the I'm-in-labor face... Because it's kinda looking like what mom looked like when she went into labor with Caleb and Felix..."

"Oh, so it's everybody?" Mickie asked, the pain evident in her face.

"Oh, God..." Dani said, she hadn't dealt with a labor in a long while and she hadn't planned to today... But that was life and she need to get her Aunt to the hospital, "Just breath."

"Trust me, that's what I _know _how to do." Mickie replied, breathing deeply.


	58. Welcome!

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**sphinx005-** You reread the entire fic? Really? And you fell in love with it all over again? Wow, thanks! Did it really take three days? I'm glad that you took the time. I'm glad that you liked the Julie/Portman bit and Piper and Dani's conversation about what to do about their annoying siblings. I hope that everyone is as exited as you are to see what they do to Julie and Dean... I guess that we all will have to wait and see. Thanks!

**AznIntegra-** I'm happy that you enjoyed the chapter... and in particular that phone conversation between Dani and Piper... That part was actually a spur of the moment thing, I was going to have it in the next chapter. Dani's influence does tend to rub off on people, it's just part of her personality. Actually, only Fulton, Dani, and Piper know that Dean and Julie want each other, just because the others aren't paying attention... But Dani will figure something out when she gets back. And you're right, a little bit of niece/aunt bonding time is a good thing. Yes, Dani is based after my sister and, yes, a lot of the things that Dani does, my sister does.

Thank you to mdgirl18, PrincessH, and Mrs. St. John Allerdyce!

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Whenever her mother gave birth, Dani and her brothers were always out in the waiting room waiting for their father to tell them whether their mother had had a boy or girl... Each time Dani was the only one who sighed and rolled her eyes before smiling, her brothers opting to cheer. But if Caleb or Felix had been a girl, they would have reacted as she normally did. But this time around, she was in the room with her Aunt and she was having her right hand squeezed beyond what she would have preferred, "Aunt Mickie." Dani said in a strained voice, "That's my writing hand."

"Now you know who your guy will feel whenever you have kids." Mickie replied, pain evident in her voice.

Dani slipped her hand out of her Aunt's and gave her the other one... Sure, it was her left hand and she had sprained that one when she was attacked by James Tobas, but it was better then not being able to write when she needed to, "Okay, Mick, it's time to push." The doctor, who was a very good friend to Mickie's, said.

"Great." Mickie replied, taking a deep breath and pushing as hard as she could.

"Good Job, Mick." The doctor said again as the nurse counted to 10. Mickie took a deep breath and relaxed when the nurse got to ten, "Just relax for a sec, Mick."

"Gladly, Coleman..." Mickie said, gaining a few raised eyebrows from the nurses, "I mean, Dr. Burke."

Dr. Burke nodded, "Okay, the baby is really close so one more good push and we will have a new member of the world." Mickie rolled her eyes, but took a deep breath and pushed as hard as she could, "Okay, I see a head." Mickie squeezed tighter on Dani's hand, "And a shoulder... And another little shoulder. And here we are." Mickie took a deep breath of relief, "It's a baby girl!"

Mickie looked over to Dani, "Dani, there is a number in my planner, it's in my jacket, back in the room." Dani nodded, "It's the number for Millicent and Nicholas McCloud, they're the people that I was a surrogate for. Call them and tell them to get here." Dani nodded again and left.

"Ow." Dani whispered as she shook her hands to relieve them of pain. She backtracked to her aunt's room and pulled her planner out of the inner pocket of the jacket and looked up the names that Mickie had given her as she walked back out of the room to try and find a phone, "Excuse me?" Dani asked a nurse, "Where can I find the nearest phone?"

"It's just down the hall, dear." The elderly lady replied, "You look familiar, have I seen you somewhere before?"

"Um... I don't know, have you?" Dani asked. The nurse thought for a moment, "Well, thank you." Dani said as she turned and walked down the hall to try and find the phone that the nurse had instructed her to. She found it and looked at the number before dialing, "Please be there." Dani whispered.

"McCloud residence." A very pompous voice said.

"Um... Could I speak to Mr. or Mrs. McCloud?" Dani asked.

"Whom should I say is calling?"

Dani thought for a minute, "Tell them that someone is calling in the place of Mickelle Portman and that it's urgent that I speak with one of them."

"Right away."

Dani waited for a minute at nothing but silence met her on the other end of the phone, "Hello?" An equally pompous female voice said.

Dani sighed, "Mrs. McCloud?"

"Yes."

"Hi, I'm Mickelle Portman's niece and I was just calling to tell you that she just gave birth at the University of Philadelphia Hospital and she asked me to call you." There was stunned silence on the other end, "We would have called earlier, but the birth went so quickly that there wasn't enough time."

"Thank you." She said, "My husband and I will be there momentarily." The sound of a phone hanging up met Dani's ear and she hung up as well.

"Okay." Dani said as she walked back to her Aunt's room. She entered the doorway and didn't expect to see about 8 people in there with her.

"Mickie, I can't believe you're giving that poor little girl to those people." A women with deep, rich brown hair said, "You know what they will do."

"Abbi, they're her parents." Mickie replied, "I only helped them along."

"Yeah." A man with blonde and black hair added, "But they don't want a child to raise it, they want one to 'carry on their legacy'. They will just stick her in the hands of a nanny and only talk to her when she does something wrong."

"Jack!" Mickie said, "Stop, please. I don't have a choice." Dani knocked on the wall, "Dani, honey... How long have you been standing there?"

"A while." Dani replied, "I called the McCloud's and they're coming."

"Thank you, Dani." Mickie said.

"Mick..." A man with bright blonde hair said in a singsong voice, "Introductions."

Mickie rolled her eyes, "Everyone, this is my niece, Dani. Dani, these are my friends." Dani waved and they waved back.

"Dani Portman?" The women named Abbi said, "The Olympic Gold Medal winner for figure skating?"

Dani nodded, "Guilty."

"Oh my god, Mick." Abbi said, "You never told us that you were related to an Olympian." Mickie tried to say something to defend herself, but they were all stopped by the entrance of two people in their fifties, "Oh..."

"Mickelle." Mrs. McCloud, "It's lovely to see you." Mickie waved slightly uncomfortably, "I see that all of your friends came to support you."

"Yes, it's wonderful." Mr. McCloud added, "And who is this lovely young lady?" He asked, noticing Dani.

"Um, Mr. McCloud, Mrs. McCloud, this is my niece, Dani." Mickie replied.

"Dani?" Mrs. McCloud ask with a scoff, "Why would you ever be named something like that? It's a boy's name."

Dani scoffed right back, "Um... It's short for Danielle. It's a nickname."

"Oh." Mrs. McCloud replied, not really apologizing, but it was obvious that she hadn't thought of that and she seemed pretty embarrassed, "So, Mickelle, where is our baby." Dani raised her eyebrows, blunt much?

"Mrs. and Mr. McCloud." Dr. Burke said behind the elderly couple, "I believe I have what you are looking for." They turned and looked at the tiny baby in his arms, "Congratulations." He said slightly bitter, "It's a girl."

"A girl?" The McCloud's asked.

"Is something wrong?" Mickie asked.

"Um..." Mr. McCloud said, "We wanted a boy."

"Well, that's okay." Dani replied cheerfully, "At least you got the baby."

"You don't quite understand." Mrs. McCloud said, "We wanted... No, we _needed _a boy." Dani raised her eyebrows, "We can't have a girl... We need our family name to be passed on."

"Then why didn't you adopt?" Dani asked, not understanding their logic in the least.

"That wouldn't be out family. It isn't our job to take in a child that isn't ours." Mr. McCloud replied.

Dani scoffed, "I happen to know a far amount of people that adopt or are adopted and don't exactly see it that way."

"Well, that's how we see it." Mrs. McCloud replied, "We will pay for your bills and the girls, Mickelle, but we can't take her."

"What the he..." Dani started before a hand was placed over her mouth and she was pulled back near the bed. The McCloud's left and Dani rolled her eyes, "I hate humanity sometimes."

"Um-hum." Mickie's friends added.

"Can they do that?" Dani asked, "Is that legal?"

Dr. Burke nodded, "Unfortunately it is. They have the choice." He sighed, "Mick, the thing that most doctors try to do whenever this happens is ask the surrogate mother whether or not she wants to take the baby." Mickie looked at him with an unsuspecting look on her face, "I know that it's a hard decision to make, but just think about it."

"Um... Can I hold her?" Dani asked. Dr. Burke nodded and handed the baby to her, "Wow, she's so cute... And she looks nothing like the old and bitter people." The group laughed, "Want to hold her, Aunt Mickie?" Mickie looked at her niece as if she was trying to say no, but Dani could tell that she wanted to, "Here."

"Um..." Mickie replied, "Oh my God." She said as Dani placed the baby in her arms, "You know, you caused a fair amount of pain getting into this world." She said to the baby.

"Not just to you." Dani replied, causing Mickie to laugh.

"Sorry, Dani." Mickie replied before looking back at the baby with a look on her face that was all to familiar to Dani.

"Uh-oh." Dani said, "I know that look, it's the same look that mom had when she held Caleb and Felix for the first time." Mickie looked up in shock, "Don't give me that, I have enough experience with births to know what falling in love for the first time looks like."

"Is that a yes, Mick?" Dr. Burke asked. Mickie looked from the baby in her arms to the doctor to her niece and back to the doctor before nodded, "Wonderful, do you have a name?"

"Well, I wasn't exactly thinking of what to name her, Coleman." Mickie replied, "I didn't think that I was going to leave with her."

"But you always said that your first daughter's name was going to be Samantha Rae." A female voice said behind the group. Mickie looked up on shock, "Hey, Mick."

"Evey." Mickie replied, "What... What are you..."

Evey raced over to Mickie, "Mick, I am so sorry." She said, "Please, what I did was the biggest mistake that I have ever made, I just couldn't stand to see you hurt. And by trying to avoid that, I hurt you myself." Tears dripped down her face, "Forgive me, please." She begged, "I love you."

Mick was caught off guard. She wanted more then anything to say that she forgave Evey, but she wasn't sure if she would get hurt again, "Wow." Dani said, "That sounds just like my life."

"Huh?" Mickie asked.

"Well," Dani said, "I was dating this guy and he broke up with me because my brother is a shit head and slammed him into wall, and then we started going back out they day that I sort of bombed the short program. And that's the way we are now."

Mickie chuckled, "Well, if my niece can give second chances, then I can." Evey smiled and leaned forward, kissing Mickie. They pulled apart and smiled, "I love you, too, Evey." She said.

Evey smiled, "Mick, I want to hear more about this boyfriend that your niece was talking about. Particularly if he helped you start to forgive me." The rest of the group agreed and Dani sighed. She wasn't quite sure why Evey had suddenly changed the subject, but whatever. Dani pulled out her wallet and pulled out a picture of Adam and handed it to Evey, "Wow, he's cute."

"Yes, you have great taste, it seems." Mickie said, as she handed the picture to her friends, who agreed.

"Actually, Aunt Mickie." Dani said, "Adam is the only decent boyfriend I've hand. My first one moved away and we had a long distance relationship, but when he came back, he had gotten together with this other girl and he said that we'd been over for a while and then I rebounded with another guy and we dated for a while, but I found him making out with someone else and I found out that he had been screwing around with another girl for about three months."

"Wow." The group said.

"Yeah, but Adam's different."

"He looks like a good kisser." Jack said. Dani thought coyly for a while and then nodded, causing everyone to laugh and cheer.

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Adam sat at his desk in his dorm room doing nothing but staring at a blank piece of paper that he was suppose to be doing his homework on. His attention kept getting taken by a picture of Dani that he had and he was reminded of how much he missed her. He knew that if his dad found out that he couldn't concentrate on work because of Dani, then he would be in deep trouble. Knowing that, Adam willed himself to work as hard as he could.

After a few moments of successfully starting a few of the things that he was suppose to do, a knock came on the door, "Come in." He called, not taking his eyes off of the paper on his desk. He was very surprised when pair of hands covered his eyes, "Do I have to guess?"

"That depends." A voice said. Adam smiled and turned, "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"Ditto." Adam said, pulling Dani into a bear hug and kissing her on the cheek, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too." Dani replied, hugging him back, "You looked a little bit distracted over there." She said.

"I was trying to finish homework." Adam admitted, "But it was a little too boring. I prefer this much better." Dani chuckled and kissed Adam, "Yeah, much more preferable."

"I am so glad to be back, but I did have fun... Most of the time."

"Only most of the time?" Adam asked.

Dani nodded, "I met some people that had asked a women to be a surrogate mother for them and when the baby was born, they didn't want it because it was a girl." Adam's eyes widened, "Yup, that was my reaction, but I said a few things that I probably shouldn't have."

"Well, some people have issues." Adam replied.

Dani nodded again, "But, on a happier note, a group of 10 lesbians and gay men unanimously agreed that you were attractive and that you looked like a good kisser."

Adam was slightly taken aback, "What?" He asked.

Dani laughed at the look on Adam's face, "My Aunt Mickie, the one that I was going to see, she's a lesbian and her friends wanted to see a picture of you, so I let them, and they all agreed that you were very attractive and that you looked like you were a good kisser."

Adam chuckled, "And what did you say?"

"What do you think?" Dani said with a smile on her face.

"You kiss and tell?" Adam asked.

Dani smiled wider, "Only when it's good." Adam smiled, "But what about you? Would you kiss and tell."

"Absolutely not." Adam said, "Not unless it was a truth or dare and you were there with me."

"That's sweet." Dani said, "Now I remember why I missed you so much."

"You forgot?"

"What can I say, I've got amnesia." Adam chuckled, "Maybe you could remind me?" Adam smiled and leaned forward, kissing Dani gently, "Memory's coming back." Dani said, "But it could come back more."

"I get the message." Adam said, kissing Dani again. He hadn't expected this when Dani got back, but it was better then what he _was _expecting, which was Dean getting all of the time with Dani and him not getting to see her at all until Dean decided to give her up... Yup, this was definitely better.


	59. Baby Love

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**AznIntegra-** I'm glad that you loved the last chapter, and even more so that you liked how Mickie's gay and lesbian friends agreed on Adam... I was hoping that people would like that... I have a lot of hopes for the different chapters of my stories. I know a fair amount of people that are like the elderly couple formally mentioned, so I thought that I would like to add that in... Make people more aware and stuff. As for Evey, I thought that she would add a special little twist to show that not everyone sucked beyond measure (like the couple), and I intentionally made what she and Mickie went through like Adam and Dani because it shows that different people go through the same thing. Adam knew that Dani was coming back, he just really missed her when she was gone and he was happy to see her. As for my sister, no she does not like to play Cupid like Dani. That's a part of _my _personality that I blended with the majority of what my sister was like to make Dani, even thought Dani is basically my sister.

**NikChic-** Your favorite Might Ducks Fic ever? Really? Wow, thanks! I'm happy that you liked the Adam/Dani reunion, I thought it was cute, but you never know. I could imagine Adam's face when Dani told him the news about the gay and lesbian group agreeing on him, as well, and that gave me the inspiration to write that part. Thanks!

Very many thanks to Mrs. St. John Allerdyce, mdgirl18, and PrincessH; and happy belated Turkey Day to everyone!

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Breathing heavily, Dani sat in the office of the doctor that had bandaged up her nose when she had broken it. It was finally the day that she would have her brace taken off and she couldn't wait. And as icing on the cake, it was also the day of the State Hockey Championships and that was where Dani was going right after. She couldn't wait to see Dean and Fulton knock a few Bears into the boards... she loved watching Dean and Fulton become the Bash Brothers... It was pure comedy for everyone watching.

"Hello, Dani." A female voice said as the door opened.

"Hello, Dr. Dennison." Dani replied as the young doctor entered the room, "Can I get this thing off of my nose now? Please?"

Dr. Dennison nodded, "Yes, you can." Dani sighed as Dr. Dennison delicately peeled the brace off of Dani's nose, "Wow..."

"What?" Dani said, worriedly.

Dr. Dennison shook her head, "Even after breaking it, you have one of the best noses that I have ever seen." Dani sighed in relief, "You heal really well, too. I don't think anyone could tell that it was broken."

"Now, see, you get it." Dani said, "My doctors back home never get that when I break something, I plan on healing as fast as possible... And they wonder why I don't care worth squat about what they say. I mean, if they tried to encourage me, then we would have a very different story."

"I know what you mean." Dr. Dennison replied, "I have known my share of doctors that look at the job as just a job, not a way to help people." Dani nodded and hopped off of examination table, "It was nice meeting you Dani... My cousins are big fans... even if the boys don't want to admit it."

"I know what you mean." Dani replied, "My brothers never talk about figure skating unless they are asking me about something." Dr. Dennison nodded and she followed Dani out of her office. The two talked until they entered the lobby and there they both took significant notice of two people on the other side of the room, talking quickly, "Uh-huh." Dani said, noticing that the two people were Fulton's mother and a rather attractive dark haired doctor that Dani only assumed was Dr. Forrest Kowalski.

"Those two..." Dr. Dennison said, "What would that look like?"

Dani raised her eyebrows, "Why do you want to know?"

"Well... no reason." She replied, "Feel better and don't break your nose again."

Dani smiled, "I have no intention to." She said as she kept her eye on Mrs. Reed and the doctor. She walked out the door and stepped into a bright red Mercedes, "Hello Gala... Sindri, it's nice to see you."

"Hello." Sindri replied in a whisper. He was so cute and quiet. Gala was a very lucky women.

"Hello, Dani." Gala replied, "Like the car?" Dani nodded, "I think Gunnar wants to steal it and show up in Chicago in it so that he can impress Leah... Did I ever mention that he is starting to get on my nerves?"

"Yes, I believe you have once... Or twice... Or sixty times." Gala got the joke and rolled her eyes, "But if he really wants to impress Leah, Gunnar needs to bring her some really deep red roses... She has a thing for really dark, deep red. So... at least he's on track with the red... Now it needs to be darker." Gala chuckled and sped off.

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Sitting center ice, somewhere in the middle of crowd, Dani watched in silence as Guy passed to Averman who passed to Connie. Then she passed to Ken and he passed to Charlie, who skated as fast as he could down the ice and towards Blake's end. Adam followed him on the opposite side of the ice, while Dean and Fulton made sure that no one could get to them. Charlie stopped suddenly and passed to Adam, who shot the puck into the net before the goalie could even attempt to stop the point. Along with the rest of the crowd, Dani cheer as loud as she could. Down a few seats from her, Dani could hear a gaggle of girls talking about how cute Adam was. She couldn't help but chuckle and think, _'Yup, and he's mine... Ha Ha, sucks for you!'_.

Unlike the Blake game earlier in the school year, the Ducks actually had real competition this time. It seemed as if, after their last humiliating defeat, the Blake Bears had regrouped and gotten better. Hell, they got to the championships, didn't they? Well, they may have gotten better, but if they think that the Ducks has been sitting on their behinds and resting on what they had before, then poor Blake was seriously mistaken.

Dani, along with everyone in the crowd, flinched and 'oohed' when Dean sent another player into the boards, "That's my brother." Dani whispered to herself as Fulton gave Dean a high five. She laughed and clapped as Dean took the attention that he was giving him like a ham... That's what he was, a big ham.

A few moments later, poor Kenny, who was still rather small, was practically flattened by a combination of the biggest Blake player, Dwayne, and Russ. Dwayne and Russ pulled him to his feet and the referee helped Ken limp back to the bench. Out of what seemed like no where, through the cheering for Kenny, came the sounds of about 5 people cheering... And if Dani remembered correctly, from what Kenny had told her, the cheering was in Chinese... What? Dani looked up and saw, in the top row, 4 Asian kids swaying back and forth while a girl with peachy colored skin sat on two of the kids shoulders... Wait a minute... That girl was Maybelle, Kenny's girlfriend. She looked exactly like she did in the picture that Kenny had, but now her hair wasn't black and orange, it was blue-green.

"Aw..." Dani couldn't help but say out loud, "She came to see him." Dani looked down and saw that Kenny's eyes had widened to the point that they looked like they would never go back. He turned and sat next to Luis, who patted him on the back.

Dani returned her eyes to the remaining game. The score was 5-6, with the Ducks in the lead and 25 seconds left in the 3rd period. Dani automatically starting tapping her foot in anticipation as Adam faced off with a Blake player who's name was escaping Dani at the moment. Adam gained control of the puck easily and passed to Russ. Everyone in the arena could practically feel Russ' smile as he shot his ever famous knuckle puck at the Blake goalie... Needless to say, the score went up 5-7 in the Ducks favor and Ducks fans cheered louder then ever.

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1..." They all chanted as the clock ticked down. Now was the real chance for everyone to go crazy. Dani had to practically jump down the stairs over several people so that she could make her way down to the ice and congratulate her brother.

Dean and Fulton were giving each other high fives and head butts, "Boys..." Dani said. Dean and Fulton looked over and smiled evilly, "Oh shit." Dani said as the boys wrapped their arms around her and turned her into the middle of a bash brother sandwich, "Guys, let me go." They released her, "Hey, Fulton. Look." Dani said, pointing to Tammy, who was politely making her way passed people.

"Oh..." Fulton said, "Wow." Dani rolled her eyes, she figured that he would say something about the fact that Tammy was wearing a knockout outfit at the moment, "Excuse me."

Dani and Dean chuckled, "He's whipped." Dean said.

"You'd like to be." Dani said with a scoff in her voice causing Dean raised his eyebrows, "By Julie." Dean crossed his arms, wondering where his sister got that idea, "Dean, please... Do I look stupid to you? I'm surprised that no one else has noticed that you get hot for her... All the preppy girls will be crushed when they find out."

"Dani, go bother cake-eater or something."

Dani shrugged, "If I must." Dean shook his head and went over to congratulate none other then Julie, "Hello, handsome." She said to Adam's back. He turned and smiled, "Notice anything different."

Adam smiled, "The nose brace is gone."

Dani nodded, "You know what that means." Adam smiled as if he as clueless, "Okay, please tell me that you are joking."

"Absolutely." Adam replied. Dani sighed and the two of them chuckled as Adam placed his arms around Dani and pulled her into a deep hug. Dani hugged him back, but Adam soon pulled away and caught Dani's lips in a passionate kiss, not that she minded. Although she had never been in a make out session in public before, she didn't really care about anyone seeing them.

About 10 feet away from Adam and Dani, Kenny was met by Maybelle, "Why did I not know that you were going to be here and that you would be bringing my cousins?" He asked, noting the four Asian kids still standing at the top stairs.

"I wanted to surprise you." Maybelle said in her smoky voice that a person could imagine in a novel with Fabio on the cover, "Besides, the look on your face wouldn't have been near as much fun."

Ken chuckled, "I'm happy you're here."

"Well, you better be." Maybelle replied, "Because I didn't come here to be unappreciated." Kenny chuckled, "That was a massive hit you took, baby... Should I nurse you back to health?"

Ken nodded rapidly, "Yes please, nurse lady." Maybelle chuckled and placed her arms around Ken's neck and kissed him. After a moment, Ken pulled back slightly, "That's new." He said, causing Maybelle to smile and stick out her tongue, revealing a bright orange tongue ring, "When did you get that?"

"It was my Christmas present from my dad." She replied, "You like?"

Ken nodded, "Me like a little more then like." He said, causing Maybelle to chuckle again, "But how did you manage to get out of class to come and see me?"

"Dude, it's very, very simple. I walked up to my dad in a place where he couldn't argue with me, I pouted and I begged and I got what I wanted." Maybelle replied, "I just said that I wanted to see you and here I am... I'm quite spoiled when I want to be. Besides, it's only one day of class that I'm missing."

"And if your parents were still together?"

"I wouldn't be as spoiled."

"Exactly." Ken said, "So, this may sound mean, but I'm kinda glad that they aren't, cause I missed you too much."

Maybelle smiled, "Ditto." With that she began to kiss him again, much to the amusement and shock of his team and the thought of _'We should have seen something like this coming.' _that repeated through Dani and Tammy's heads.


	60. Little Goobers

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**AnzIntegra-** The comment that was made by Tammy and Dani was really a thought that both of them were thinking, but I'm glad that you liked it anyway. Yes, I do play Cupid on occasion, it actually scares a few friends of mine because they say that I don't know anything about relationships. Ha, shows what they know. Different parts of my sister's personality and mine do meld together quite nicely, I'm glad you noticed. Dani is like everyone, she makes friends with some people, but can't stand some others. As for Dean's stubborn streak ending, we will have to see. Dani and Piper will play Cupid soon, so just be patient, it will happen. Honestly, I am the same way about slashes; I don't mind them. That's my personal opinion and I'm sticking to it. I respect what people believe as long as they do the same for me. Glad you agree.

Thank you PrincessH!

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Gordon Bombay was a man that never went back on his promises and when he promised Myrka and Julian that he would take them to Minnesota to meet his mother over Spring Break, then that was what he had intended to do. He had called his mother a few weeks ago, saying that he was bringing down her grandchildren and he was sure that she had almost dropped the phone. It might have slipped his mind to call and say that the adoption had actually gone through. His mother, Anne, was more then ecstatic that he was coming and bringing the children that she had heard so much about and she insisted that she get off the phone and make preparations. That was a month ago.

At the moment, Gordon was driving in rental car to his mothers home while Julian slept in the back seat and Myrka was being dead to the world as she moved only to the beat of the music that was being blasted into her ears. He stopped the car in his mother's driveway and shook Myrka's shoulder, "Honey, we're here."

"Okay, daddy." Myrka replied as she turned and pulled Julian's blanket off of him, "Hey, Julian, we're here." Julian mumbled something incoherent while he tried to yank back the blanket in his sleep. Myrka sighed, sometimes he could be a deep sleeper, "Oh look, Julian's asleep. I guess we can flush Freddie down the toilet." She said, causing her brother to shoot up.

"You will not." He replied, pulling the blanket out of his hands, "He's a good frog." He added, clutching the plastic container that held his constant companion.

"I was just trying to wake you up." Myrka replied, "We're at Grandma's."

"Oh, okay." Julian said as he pulled the container on his lap, "We get to go meet Grandma, Freddie." He told the small green frog, "So don't sneak out, you might scare her." Myrka rolled her eyes and got out of the car, followed closely by her brother.

"Come on, kids." Gordon said, leading them up the driveway and to the front door, "Now remember, Grandma's going to be really excited to see you, so if she scares you a little, remember that she does that to a lot of people." Julian and Myrka giggled. He sighed and pressed the door bell, waiting for his mothers high pitched squeal of happiness when she saw her youngest boy again. But what he wasn't expecting was someone completely different answering the door, "Oh God." Gordon said automatically.

"Nice to see you too, baby brother."

"Nickolas." Gordon said, "What in the world are you doing here?"

Nickolas smirked, "Well, mom called and said that you were bringing the kids and I figured 'Hey, a great time to see Gordon again'. Killing two birds with one stone, seeing you and the kids. So I, in turn, called up Kennedy and Deirdre and we came to see you."

"Ken and De are here to?" Gordon asked, completely mortified.

"Absolutely." Nickolas replied, "You don't think that I would pass up and opportunity for my sisters and I to meet our brothers kids, do you?"

"What about your kids?"

Nickolas rolled his eyes, "Sofie is watching them. She had to work and she didn't mind that I wanted to come. As for the girls, they are them. I don't even want to know what those two did to get away, they have scary minds." Shrugging, Nickolas looked at the two children behind his younger brother, "Hello." He said. Myrka waved slightly, "Everyone come on in."

Gordon sighed as he walked into his childhood home followed by his own children. He didn't know that Nick, Ken, and De were going to be there as well. As much as he loved his brother and sisters, he wanted Myrka and Julian to be able to get to know them each one at a time, therefore lowering their stress levels.

"Dad, you need to chill." Myrka said, noticing her father's stress go through the roof.

"Yeah." Julian added, "Don't have a cow." Nickolas snickered at the ability that these children had to act like the adults as opposed to the kids. Although, that was probably not something to snicker about. The group entered the living room and was immediately met with a loud shriek.

"Mom." Gordon and Nickolas replied.

"My baby boy." Anne cried, "I haven't seen you in ages." Gordon jumped slightly when his mother grabbed a hold of him and hugged him tightly, but he soon hugged her back, "How have you been?"

"Good." Gordon replied.

"Well, you better have." A breathless voice said, "Because now you have more people to look after then yourself."

"Thanks Kennedy." Gordon replied to his oldest sister, "What about you?"

"Not bad." Kennedy replied, "Now where are my niece and nephew?"

"They're mine too." The husky voice of Deirdre said.

Gordon motioned for Myrka and Julian to come forward, "Kennedy, Deirdre, Nickolas, Mom, I want you all to meet Myrka and Julian, my kids."

"They're beautiful." Anne replied in a whisper, "Hello."

"Hi." Myrka said as her brother halfway hid behind her, "Nice to meet you."

"Uh-huh. It's nice to meet you." Julian added.

"And they have manners." Deirdre replied, "I'm sure that they learned that from someone else." Gordon laughed sarcastically, "Do you two like chocolate chip cookies?" The children nodded quickly, "Well, it just so happens that I just made some. Do you want any?"

"Yes please?" They said in unison, excitement clearly etched on their faces.

"Well, then you two can help us bring some in here because I know that your father is still the biggest pig in the world." Julian and Myrka giggled and followed Kennedy and Deirdre into the kitchen.

"So." Anne said, once her daughters and newest grandchildren were out of the room, "Are they going to have a mother at any point?"

"Mom!" Gordon exclaimed, "I'm not even dating anyone. I just want the family that I have to get along for now."

"Um-hum." Nickolas said, "That just means that he's being picky."

"Picky?" Gordon asked, "I'm not being picky, I just don't want to have to go through any divorces." Nickolas glared at him, no one brought up that subject, "I am trying to do what is best for my children."

"That's really sweet of you daddy." Myrka said, holding a huge plate of cookies, "But if you want my opinion, I'd go with Casey... And I know you would too."

"Huh?" Kennedy asked staring at her brother's mortified face.

"Um... Who?" Deirdre asked.

"Nobody." Myrka replied as she sat on the couch and ate a cookie, smiling contently at both the velvety cooking in her mouth and the fact that she had called her father on something that they both agreed on. Something that he had been fighting for quite a long time.

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Sometimes the things that you never expect can come back to be very good. That's certainly the way that Casey Conway felt nowadays. When Philip Banks came to her and offered his services, as well as the services of M. August Munroe, a very high end divorce attorney, she thought the same thing that most women in her situation would as. How in hell am I suppose to pay for this?

Philip said that it was taken care of and she didn't have to pay. This was too good to be true, but Casey took the offer anyway. So far, Philip and M. August had gotten her a fair amount and they had already drawn up the papers asking for full custody of the baby that they knew was his.

"Hello, Casey." Two familiar voices said as she sat at Mickey's, not able to do any work, but taking any chance to stay out of her house that she could.

"Chris, Alicia." Casey replied, "It's good to see you."

"Hello Mrs. Conway."

"Terry, Jesse." Casey said, "I haven't seen any of you for a while." It was true. As of late she couldn't go to work because she was so close to popping it wasn't even funny, so she had less time to see people like the Hall's.

"You look great." Alicia said.

"Um-hum." Casey retorted, "Sure I do."

"No, you really do, Mrs. Conway." Jesse said, "You look fantastic."

Casey chuckled, "This is what a women needs." She said, "She needs people to tell her that she looks great even when it is obvious that she resembles a Blue Whale."

"You don't resemble a Blue Whale." Chris replied.

"Thank you." Casey said, "But off of my weight, how have you all been?"

"We've been good." Alicia replied, "The Gallery is booming so we have to work a lot and the boys here have been working extra hard to please mother."

"We love you mom." They stated in unison.

"Cute." Casey said before getting a far off look in her eyes.

"Are you okay, Mrs. Conway?" Terry asked.

"Um." Casey said, "If I do remember correctly, I think I'm having a contraction." All four of the Hall's jaws dropped and Casey breathed deeply for a second, "Yep, that was a contraction... And I can already tell that this is going to take a while."

"Um, should I call Charlie?" Jesse asked.

"No." Casey said, "It's too soon."

* * *

Casey's contractions boomed over the past few hours and the Hall's had decided to stay with her. When she felt the pain was too much, Chris and Alicia got her to their car and took her to the hospital while Terry and Jesse tried to get a hold of Charlie or one of the Ducks, "Is Charlie coming?" Casey asked from her hospital bed. 

Terry and Jesse looked at each other for a moment, "We couldn't get a hold of him." Terry replied.

"We couldn't even get any of the other Ducks." Jesse added.

Casey growled, "Uh! What is that boy doing?"

At that moment a light went off in Jesse's eyes, "Dani! Dani will pick up, she always does." He pulled out his cellphone, "I don't know why I didn't figure this out before." He dialed Dani's number and prayed that she could pick up because with his rotten luck today, she wouldn't.

"Hello?"

"Oh, thank god." Jesse sighed, "Dani, can you do me a huge favor?"

"Jess?" Dani asked, "Sure, what?"

"Um, I need you to find Charlie and get his lazy butt over here to the hospital." Jesse said, "Mrs. Conway is in labor and we've been trying to get a hold of him for a few hours now."

"Sure." Dani said, "I'll get him there as soon as I can."

"Thanks, Dani." Jesse said as he hung up the phone, "She'll get him."

* * *

Back at Eden Hall, Dani raced around in what seemed like a failing attempt to find Charlie. It was like the boy had dropped off the face of the Earth or something. Slumping down on a bench, Dani sighed in defeat, "So, who died?" A voice asked. 

"Hi Linda." Dani replied, "Just wondering, do you know where Charlie is?" Linda raised her eyebrows, "I've been looking all over for him and I can't find him at all. I think he dropped off of the face of the Earth."

Linda chuckled, "Actually, I think he and the other Ducks are over at the rink. You know, just skating around and playing a round of whatever they call what they do when Dwayne chases them with his lasso."

"Thank you." Dani sighed, "I'll see you around. I have to go find Charlie and yell at him."

"Why?"

"His mom is having a baby and she's been trying to get a hold of him for only God knows how long." Linda gasped, "I've got to go." Linda waved and Dani ran off towards the rink, "That little goober better be here." She walked inside and sighed in relief as she heard the distinct sounds of Ducks at play; she also heard Dean Buckley and Coach Orion talking.

"That doesn't look very purposeful, Ted."

"Dean, they're teenagers. Besides, they won the State Championship. Now it's their time to joke around." Orion replied, "It's something that Gordon let them do when they weren't working, so if it keeps them on skates, then I'm happy."

"Hello, Gentlemen." Dani said, causing the elder man to jump.

"Ms. Portman." Dean Buckley replied, "It's nice to see you. Ever since the Olympics you haven't been around as often."

"Actually, I've been around a fair amount." Dani replied, "But I'm sure that you have Dean-ly things to do, so you didn't ever see me."

"Dani." Ted said, "What can I do for you."

"I need to yell at Charlie." Dani replied, "Charlie!" She yelled down the stands, causing all of the Ducks to look up and Dean Buckley to jump back again, "You need to leave."

"Why?" Charlie yelled back, perplexed.

Dani sighed, "Oh, no reason." She said, "I mean, your mother is only having a baby, but take your time." Charlie stared at Dani for a moment in stunned silence, "That means GO! NOW!" Dani yelled pointing towards the door. Charlie immediately jumped off of the ice, kicked off his skates, and ran, "On my God." Dani sighed as the rest of the Ducks followed Charlie's example, but only waltzed up to Dani, as opposed to leaving.

"So, Mrs. Conway is really having the baby?" Connie asked.

"That's what I hear." Dani replied, "Hey, Dean?"

"What?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"I heart you." Dani replied innocently.

Dean sighed, "Lay down."

"Thank you." Dani sighed as she laid on her stomach and Dean clenched his hands into fists. He then laid his clenched fists on Dani's back and ran them down from the base of her neck to the base of her spine. As he did so, popping sounds reached everyone's ears, causing a few in the vicinity to cringe, "Oh." Dani exclaimed, "That felt good."

"That'll be 50 bucks." Dean said.

"Screw that." Dani replied, "I don't owe you squat." All of the Ducks chuckled, Adam most predominate among them, "And your team, it seems, would agree with me." Dean rolled his eyes and laughed sarcastically, causing Dani to roll her eyes and flick him in the nose.

"What was that for?" Dean asked, rubbing his nose.

"For being an idiot." Dani stated simply, gaining another chuckle from the group, "Oh, yeah. I'm good." Dean shook his head, "Thanks again, moron." She added, slapping Dean in the head. Dean attempted to flatten his hair, "You are such a girl."


	61. Come to Me, Baby

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**AznIntegra-** I'm glad that you enjoyed the last part of the last chapter and thought that it was funny as hell. What did Dean do? He popped and massaged her back at the same time and if felt good because she had been stressing about finding Charlie. She got Dean to do it because, like you said, she can twist his arm and make him do anything that she wants him to... Well, at least she can most of the time. Thank you!

**PrincessH-** I'm ecstatic that you liked the last chapter. Gordon and Casey and one big happy family? You never know. It's possible that I was thinking in that general direction, or I could have been thinking something completely different. Who knows? Perhaps you even changed my mind... Wouldn't that be something? We will just have to see what happens and I hope that you like how everything ends!

Thank you to Mrs. St. John Allerdyce!

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Charlie finally reached the hospital and he was completely out of breath, which is understandable considering he had just run all the way from Eden Hall. He entered the building and leaned against the wall to take a moment and catch his breath. As he did so, Charlie saw his mother's OB/GYN talking merrily with women at the front desk. What? Wasn't she suppose to be helping his mother give birth to his little brother or sister?

"Hello, Charlie." Dr. O'Neill said cheerfully.

Charlie sighed, "Wait a second, aren't you suppose to be, you know, helping my mother give birth or something?"

Dr. O'Neill sighed. She had figured that Charlie would be very worried about his mother's pregnancy, "Charlie, take a second to breathe and calm down. You have nothing to worry about. Your mother has plenty of time before she will give birth and if something happens before hand to make the labor go faster, then I will be there. Okay?"

"Okay." Charlie replied, taking another deep breath.

"Your mother is in room 426." Dr. O'Neill replied, "Go see her." Charlie nodded and walked towards the elevator, "Kids. They're always so antsy when their mother's are giving birth." She shook her head and walked back towards her office to get Casey's file.

While she did that, Charlie nervously made his way up to his mother's room, hoping that she was fine. He sighed deeply as he exited the elevator and walked to his mother's room, "Mom?" He asked.

"Hi, honey." Casey replied, somewhat strained. She jerked quickly, showing Charlie that she must have had a contraction, but then she returned to normal, "Where have you been."

"My phone kinda died." Charlie admitted.

"Again?" Casey asked. Charlie shrugged innocently, causing Casey to laugh, "What am I going to do with you?"

"Strap me on a rocket and send me to Pluto?" Charlie suggested. Casey placed her finger to her chin, as if she was actually thinking about the suggestion, "Mom!" Charlie exclaimed.

"I'm kidding." Casey replied, "I'm kidding."

"Sure you are." Charlie replied. He panicked momentarily as his mother experienced another contraction, "I can't wait until the baby is born."

Casey sighed, "Do you want my job?" She asked, "Because I would be more then happy to give it to you." Charlie shook his head. He most definitely would not want to give birth, "I didn't think so."

"I love you, mom." Charlie said.

"I love you too, honey." Casey replied as she rubbed her swollen stomach. Charlie wasn't sure what came over him, knowing perfectly well that his mother hated beyond belief having her stomach touched, and he placed his hand gently on her belly. He was surprised when he felt movement.

"Hey, I felt something." He said happily.

"Yeah, that was an elbow against my liver." Casey replied, taking a deep breath, "The baby has been quite fond of those lately." Charlie laughed, "And just think, when you are married, you get to go through this again."

Charlie laughed nervously, "That's not going to happen for a while."

"Oh thank God." Casey said, sighing, "That makes my day."

"I'm glad that I could help mom." Charlie replied. However, to Charlie's shock, Casey did nothing, "Mom?" She stared blankly at the ceiling behind Charlie's head, "Mom? Mom? Mom!" He gently shook Casey and she blinked, "You okay?"

"What happened?" Casey asked.

"You kind of blanked on me." Charlie said, catching his breath, "Are you okay?"

"Hunky dory." Casey replied as she sighed and sunk down into her bed. Charlie knew that she was worried. It had been 16 years since she had given birth and on top of that she had 'tiny' problem of a fairly large custody battle after the birth actually happened because anyone with a brain knew that Jake was the baby's father... Poor thing. Hopefully it would be screwed over because of that fact, "I'm fine, sweetie, really. I guess I'm just a little nervous. My body doesn't..."

"Mom?" Charlie asked, wondering why Casey had stopped.

"Oh... the baby's coming." Casey whispered, "My water just broke..."

"It what?" Charlie asked, not really believing what he was hearing.

"Repeat that for me, too." Dr. O'Neill said as she entered, "Your water broke?" Casey nodded, "Wow, my timing has not been failing me. I love it." Charlie sighed... This was really happening, wasn't it?

(-----------)

It had been 4 hours since his mother's water had broken and Charlie felt that now everything was going much slower then it had been before... Not to mention his mother was about to break his hand, "You'll have to deal with _this _when you have children, Charlie." Casey reminded him.

"Just so you know, mom, I plan on never having sex in my life." Charlie replied, twisting his hand under his mothers so that she didn't break it clean off.

"Hallelujah." Casey said as she took another deep breath and pushed. Charlie counted internally as Dr. O'Neill counted to 10. Casey released her breath once Dr. O'Neill made it down to 1 and Charlie sighed as well. She was giving birth, so what was a broken hand among mother and son? Okay, that sounded really weird, but there was a small point to it, right? Of course there was.

"Okay, Casey." Dr. O'Neill said, "A few more good pushes and we will have baby." Casey smiled and took a deep breath, "Okay, ready. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8...9...10. Okay, relax." Casey sighed, "Sure your not having any kids, Charlie?"

"Yeah... that's not going to happen."

"Sure it's not." Casey retorted, "He'll say that till the cows come home and then he will meet a pretty girl. It's the common cycle."

"Thanks for the faith, mom." Charlie replied.

"You're welcome honey." Casey said before taking another deep breath and pushing. Dr. O'Neill counted to 10 again and said that she saw a head. On top of that, she had said 'a head of beautiful blonde hair'... At least one of the babies attributes was his mothers as she had had blonde hair to begin with and it turned red when she was about a year old. Casey pushed once again and the room was soon filled with cries.

"Oh my god." Charlie whispered to himself.

"It's a girl!" Dr. O'Neill said, causing Casey to cry even more then she was. Charlie watched as the nurses cleaned off the tiny baby girl and and weighed her before handing her off to Dr. O'Neill, who had to take blood for the paternity test, "I know, I know, baby. I'm so sorry, the mean men are making me do it." She then wrapped the baby in a pink blanket

"She's perfect." Casey said, kissing the baby on the head, "Isn't she Charlie."

"She looks just like you, mom." Charlie noted as he ran his thumb along her forehead. The baby's crying subsided as she took her first glances at her mother and brother, "Hi baby."

"Does she have a name, yet?" Dr. O'Neill asked, "Or have you been waiting to find out what she was?"

Casey shook her head, "I always said that my first born son was going to be Charles Lucas, which it is..." Charlie nodded, "And my first born daughter was going to be Avalon Lee."

"Oh yeah." Charlie said, "After your best friend from high school, Avalon Woods, and grandpa Lee." Casey nodded, kissing her daughter on the head. Her tears soon changed from happy to full of grief and Charlie noticed how she held the baby close to her, "It's okay, mom."

"No. It's not." Casey replied, "I can't lose her. She's my baby."

"I know, mom." Charlie said, trying to comfort her, "I know."

(------------)

Not that long ago, Charlie and his mother had been joined in the hospital by Philip Banks, M. August Munroe, Jake, and Duncan Haywood. Charlie was very close to snapping Jake in half, particularly after Dr. O'Neill brought Avalon into the room and Jake said, "That baby doesn't look a thing like me. There is no way it's mine."

"Let's take this moment to thank God that she doesn't look like you." Charlie said. Casey tried to get her son to quite up, but all of his emotions got the best of him, "I mean, there is always a 50-50 chance that kids look more like their mothers then their fathers and vise versa... I mean, people always say that kids can't be theirs because it doesn't look like them, but there is another parent to think about..."

Casey sighed, "Are you finished, Charlie?"

"Yes, mom." Charlie said, realizing that he had just acted the very opposite of how his mother wanted him to act, "Sorry."

"If I could break in for a moment." Dr. O'Neill said, "Congratulations, Mr. Talbot. It's a beautiful 5 pound, 8 ounce baby girl. And, yes, she is definitely your daughter."

"Good, then _I _can raise her and name her." Jake said.

"She already has a name." Charlie said.

"We can change that." Jake said, staring holes into Charlie's body, "I've always been partial to the name Peggy Mae." Charlie shook his head and pretended like he was going to puke.

"Jakob Miles Talbot." An angry and very Southern voice said, "I did not raise you this way." Jake turned to see none other then his mother, a very strict Southern women who believed that every child needed a mother and the lord, "That baby girl needs her mother... And I hate the name Peggy! Peggy Ann Baeker was the women that dared to seduce your father."

"Mother please..." Jake said in a whisper.

"And do you remember what happened to them?" Mrs. Talbot, better known as Daisy Lee, asked.

"They got shot?" Charlie asked, causing Daisy to laugh.

"Well, no." She replied, "Actually, I threw them out of my house for the whole town to see buck-naked... But me bein' who I was back then... I probably woulda shot 'em if I had had my gun." Charlie shrugged, "What'd you name her, Casey?"

"Avalon Lee." Casey replied.

Daisy smiled, "Now, I know you didn't know that my middle name is Lee, so this is quite the coincidence."

"Is it?" Casey asked, "It's my father's first name. By the way, how are you?"

"What do you mean?" Daisy asked.

"Jake went to see you a while ago, back in September, because you were sick." Charlie clarified.

"He did what?" Daisy asked, "You did no such thing."

"Really?" Casey asked, "That's interesting."

"Jakob... what is the matter with you?" Daisy asked, "Making up stories about me so that you can lie to a lovely women like Casey, attempting to take her daughter from her, what's next? I did not raise you like this."

A throat cleared in the doorway and everyone was shocked to see a police officer, "Jakob Talbot?"

"Who wants to know?" Jake asked.

"Minnesota State Police." A second officer said, "Could you put your hands behind your back." He asked as the man pulled handcuffs out of his pocket

"What for?" Jake asked.

The man with the handcuffs walked up behind Jake and handcuffed him as his partner said, "Jakob Talbot, you are under arrest for assault, assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, assaulting a police officer, and sexual harassment." Daisy gapped, "You are to be extradited to Mississippi, where you will be held until your trial date. You have the right to remain silent. If you give up that right anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law." They herded Jake out the door as they continued to read him his rights.

"I'm gonna beat that boy's butt with my paddle." Daisy said as she headed out the door, "Casey... Would you mind if I sent Avalon some things from time to time?"

"Of course not." Casey said. Daisy smiled and turned out of the room.

Philip and M. August Munroe managed to only chuckle because it was obvious that they wanted to just burst out laughing, "Enjoy getting your client out of this one, Duncan." Philip said. Duncan walked out of the room, completely confused about what had happened, "Congratulations, Casey."

"Thank you, Philip." Casey replied.

Charlie smiled and looked down at his baby sister. He couldn't believe that that had actually just happened. However when he looked up, Charlie was surprised to see someone who looked exactly like Myrka Bombay walk passed. Now _that _couldn't be a coincidence.


	62. Too Close

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**AznIntegra-** Thank you very much! Yes, it is quite possible to pop someone's back and massage it at the same time... But you have to be really good at it. I know a few people who can do it. I thought that Avalon Lee would be a cute name and I am glad that you agree. I was actually reading an excerpt from The Mists of Avalon in English class when I decided on the name. Thanks again!

**Bad Best Friend-** Thank you so much for the review! I really appreciate it! As for Jake, it said what he did to get arrested; assault, assault with a deadly weapon, armed robbery, assaulting a police officer, and sexual harassment. It happened in Mississippi, where he is originally from, which is why he lied to Casey about visiting his mother. He didn't go back so that he wouldn't get caught. I figured that Charlie and Casey had enough to deal with without birth complications, so I didn't make any.

**sphinx005-** Thank you! I'm glad that you liked Daisy, she's one tough women. I know someone who is exactly like her and that's how I chose to put her in. Yes, Jake is a jerk... But a jerk who got arrested. I figured that Dani should get to tell off Charlie because, sometimes, he is just plain clueless. My computer wouldn't let me do much either, so maybe something was wrong with the site... Or perhaps there is a computer epidemic of sorts... I hope not. Thanks again!

Thank you so much to Mrs. St. John Allerdyce and PrincessH!

(----------)

For the past several days, none of the Ducks had heard anything about Mrs. Conway's baby. All they knew was what Adam had managed to squirrel out of his father, and that was that Jake had been arrested for crimes committed in Mississippi and, therefore, would not be able to sue Casey for full custody, or any custody at all.

Everything had slowed down after the baby's birth and no one was taking as much advantage of that fact as Fulton. He had managed to spend a lot of free time with Tammy, which was what he was doing, "So, you don't know anything about the baby other then it was born?" Tammy asked as she laid on her side on his bed while he sat on a chair between his bed and Dean's.

"Not a thing." Fulton said, "But after everything that Charlie and Mrs. Conway had to go through, I'm not surprised that they want a little time with the baby before everyone meets it."

"This is true." Tammy replied, placing her long hair behind her ear, "I can't believe that it's almost over." She said, almost to herself, "It seems like only yesterday that Gia, Dani, and I were on a plane and swinging on Tommy and Dean's last nerves..."

"Yeah." Fulton said, "And now the school year is almost over." Tammy nodded sadly, "Cake-eater is going to cry... He's gotten really close to Dani and she's going back to Chicago pretty soon."

"That she is." Tammy replied, "May 2nd."

"I'll miss you, too." Fulton said.

"Why?" Tammy asked, causing Fulton's eyes to bulge, "What? Oh... I never mentioned..."

"Mentioned what?" Fulton asked.

Tammy took a deep breath, "Well, next year mom and dad are enrolling Tommy in Ambrose Rupert Hale High School, the math and science magnet school about 30 minutes away." Fulton raised his eyebrows, what did that have to do with him not missing Tammy? "And I have decided to continue my skating training... here." Fulton's jaw dropped, "I convinced my dad to enroll me here at Eden Hall and I figured since my first coach still lives in Edina, then I could continue with skating and she could coach me again. She loves me, she'll do anything I ask."

"Are you serious?" Fulton asked. He had figured that she would have to go back to the fancy, froufrou skating academy that her mother had placed her in. Tammy nodded, "Wasn't your mother pissed?"

"Of course." Tammy replied, "It was fun to watch. But she caved in after dad, Tommy, and I bugged her about it. She wanted me to go to Hale High with Tommy, but everyone in my family knows that I can't stand math and science, so I wouldn't do so great in a math and science magnet school."

Fulton was still caught off guard. Maybe this was some kind of dream that he didn't want to wake up from. Without meaning to, Fulton lunged from his chair and captured Tammy in a deep and passionate kiss. Tammy was enjoying Fulton's forwardness as she placed her hands on either side of his head to keep him close to her and she crushed her lips against his as he slid his tongue into her mouth.

Only an exclamation of, "Oh GOD!" pulled them apart. Fulton fell off the bed and Tammy sighed as Dean cringed across the hallway with his eyes covered, "Is it safe?"

"Shut up, Portman." Fulton said as he got to his feet.

"What do you think Dani and Adam are doing?" Tammy asked coyly, obviously getting under Dean's skin, "That was rhetorical question."

"Good." Dean said, "Because I hadn't planned on answering it." Tammy rolled her eyes. Whenever the subject of Dani and Adam came up, Dean avoided it, "I was coming to say that everyone is going to Mickey's to see Charlie... Do you two want to come, or are you too busy?"

"Ha ha." Tammy and Fulton retorted. Tammy slid off the bed and into Fulton's open arms.

"Come on." Dean said as he walked out the door, rolling his eyes at his best friends actions and the fact that Fulton had his hand in Tammy's back pocket.

Before walking out of the room, Tammy stood on her tiptoes so that she could reach Fulton's ear, "I love you." She whispered before kissing him gently on the cheek.

Fulton turned his head and stared at her, hoping that he had actually heard that. He wanted nothing more then to know that the words that had just come out of her mouth were the ones that he had heard. Only one way to find out, "I love you, too." Tammy smiled and hugged Fulton and he kissed her on the forehead... So, he had actually just heard that.

"What are you two waiting for? The flowers to bloom?" Dean called back.

Fulton sighed, "Way to ruin the moment, Portman." He said sourly, shaking his head at his best friend. Tammy giggled and wrapped her arms tighter around Fulton, "He's an idiot."

"I agree." Tammy said as they walked out of the room, their arms around each other.

"Oh, God." Dean said, "You two look like you just... Never mind." He sighed and walked out. Fulton shook his head again and Tammy was close to beating him into unconsciousness with the nearest thing that she could find. They followed Dean, who had stopped and was talking with Piper, asking her if she wanted to come and spend time with her sister and the Ducks.

"Sure." Piper said with a smile on her face, "Aww." She said, noticing Fulton and Tammy, "He's like a cute little teddy bear, isn't he, Tammy?" Tammy nodded and hugged Fulton even tighter, "You two are so cute together."

"Blah." Dean said, "I think I'm getting cavities."

"Ha ha." Dani said, coming up behind Tammy and Fulton, "Just because you haven't had a girlfriend in forever, doesn't mean that you can be a jack-in-the-box about Tammy and Fulton." Tammy smiled smugly and stuck out her tongue, "Hey, Dean?"

"What?" Dean asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Go flirt with Julie."

"What?" Dean asked in shock.

Piper sighed and grabbed Dean's face, "See that?" She asked as she made him face the sight of Scooter trying to talk to a very reluctant Julie, "She's miserable. She wants someone to get her out of that situation as quickly as possible."

"So," Dani said, "since you were the one who picked up the phone when Scooter called her right after he broke it off, you should be the one who gets the most out of him if you flirt with her." Dean raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'meaning?', "That means that if you flirt with her then he will squirm to his utmost potential." Dean shrugged, "So go flirt with her... Now!" Dean sighed and gave Dani a mock salute, "Thank you."

"I can't believe them." Dean mumbled to himself as he walked over to Julie and Scooter. He hid to make sure that Scooter couldn't see him and he sighed again. How could Dani twist his arm and get him into stuff like this? Taking his chance, not even sure how he saw this as a chance, he shot out his hand and grabbed a hold of one of the back belt loops on Julie's pants, "Hi Jules." He said as a very confused Julie stared at him, Scooter doing the same, "Can I borrow her? Thanks." He pulled Julie away with him, his hand still locked around her belt loop, and smiled at the indignant shock that was cemented on his face.

Once out of Scooter's sight and hearing range, Julie squealed and turn towards Dean. He let go of her belt loop and she smiled, "Thank you so much, Dean." She said, "He's been trying to talk to me and I can't deal with that right now... Especially with Abigail Johanson and Rick Riley around all the time trying to get with him."

"No problem, Jules." Dean said. Julie smiled wider and she reached over and hugged him. Dean couldn't help but notice that her hug was like no one else's. However, he almost fainted when Julie planted a gentle kiss on his cheek.

"So, are we going to Mickey's, or what?" Julie asked, racing off to join Piper, Dani, Tammy, and Fulton.

"The end of the earth if you want, Jules." Dean replied in a dazed whisper.

(-----------)

Charlie sat in a booth at Mickey's, eating a cheeseburger and fries, and waited for his friends to come. Ever since Avalon had been born, he had taken to leaving them out in the cold, so to speak. His mother was still home with Avalon, not wanting to leave her for a second, and that was understandable. Now all Charlie wanted to do was figure out of it really had been Myrka that was at the hospital the day that Jake had been arrested.

"Earth to Charlie." A voice said, fingers snapping in his ear. Charlie looked up and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"It _was_ you." He said.

"What was me?" Myrka asked, sitting down across from Charlie and staring at his fries.

"You were at the hospital about a week ago." Charlie said, "I saw you."

"Did you?" Charlie nodded, "Nifty. Yeah, I was there. My dad accidentally knocked my Uncle Nick down the stairs and he broke Uncle Nick's foot, so I was there while he got a cast."

"You have an Uncle Nick?"

"Yes." Myrka replied, "And an Aunt Kennedy and an Aunt Deirdre. Didn't daddy ever tell you?" Charlie shook his head, "Oh, he didn't tell us either... We only met them when we came down."

"We?" Charlie asked. Myrka raised her eyebrows, "Oh, right... You and Julian."

"Yeah."

Charlie shook his head, "I find it hard to believe that the Minnesota State Police only just found out that Jake was a criminal wanted for crimes he committed in Mississippi. He's been living here for almost 7 years, after all... But they might have had a little bit of help." Myrka smiled, "What did your dad do?"

Myrka sighed, "Well, daddy called Philip Banks after you called him... I know because I pretended that I was in the bathroom, getting ready for bed, but I was listening in on your conversation... No one will know that if you want to live, by the way." Charlie held up his hands in surrender, "And he called the Minnesota State Police after I found out about Jake."

"How did _you_ find out?"

"It was simple." Myrka said, "When we were down here last, your mother showed me a picture of Jake and she said that he was out of town. A couple of weeks ago, I got really bored, like I tend to do, and so I looked up random stuff on the Internet, including the public information on criminals. I found the name Jakob Talbot and I figured it was a common name, so I clicked on it, and low-and-behold... It was Jake... I told dad and he called the cops. Nifty, huh?"

"Nifty?" Charlie asked, "I'd say that's a little more then nifty." Myrka flipped her hair, "But you're just being modest." Myrka nodded, "You're eying my fries... Want some?"

"Thanks." Myrka said, taking a hand full and sticking them on a napkin. She looked around and found the nearest bottle of hot sauce and drenched the fries in it, "What?" Myrka asked in response to the look of utter disgust on Charlie's face."

"That's gross." Charlie replied.

"You are a wuss." Myrka said, talking a bite of a fry, "Yum." Charlie sighed and took another bite of his cheeseburger, "So, what is it?"

"Come again?" Charlie asked.

"The baby." Myrka clarified, "I saw you at the hospital, too, and I know that your mom was ready to pop, so I assumed that she had the baby. I wanted to know what it was."

"A girl." Charlie replied, "Avalon."

"Cute." Myrka said, eating another fry, "Charlie, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Ha ha." Myrka laughed, deadpanned, "Seriously." Charlie nodded, "How long have your mom and my dad been doing this really irritating I-love-you/I-love-you-not tango? Because it's getting really annoying."

Charlie chuckled, "You've noticed, huh?" Myrka nodded, "Well, they met when I was 12... So it's been 4 years." Myrka slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand, "Yeah, I know." He replied as the Ducks entered the diner.

(------------)

Much to Casey's delight, Avalon was a wonderful little girl who didn't wake up as much as Charlie had. Oh, Charlie... He could never sleep for _more_ then 2 hours at a time and now it was a chore to get him out the door in time for her to get to work... Or it had been when Charlie was at home.

In the crib that Casey had put in Charlie's room, at Charlie's insistence saying that he would sleep on the couch whenever he was home, Avalon squirmed and Casey knew that her baby was about to squeal and holler about something that she wanted, "Oh, baby." Casey said, "What is it?" Casey picked her up and Avalon immediately stopped squirming, "You wanted to be held. You are almost exactly like your brother." Casey smiled broadly and kissed her daughter on her cheek. Now she could do all of the things that she so desperately wanted.

Casey was in a daze, but a ring of the doorbell woke her up, "Coming." Casey called, placing Avalon gently over her shoulder and walking towards the door. She looked out the peephole and smiled, "What on Earth?" She asked herself. Opening the door, Casey shook her head, "Gordon Bombay... Why am I not surprised?"

Gordon chuckled, "Well, I don't know... Why aren't you surprised?"

Casey sighed, "Well, my son did tell me that he saw your daughter at the hospital the day that Jake was arrested."

"Jake was arrested?" Gordon asked coyly. Casey raised her eyebrow, "Okay, okay... I might, possibly, may have had something to do with that." Casey sighed, "I know, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gotten involved..."

"Actually, I was going to thank you... But if you insist." Casey said.

"No!" Gordon said, "Thank you is good."

Casey laughed, "Do you want to come in?"

"Thanks." Gordon said, walking inside. He smiled as he passed her and the small baby in her arms that was wrapped in a white blanket with pink trim, "What's her name?"

Casey smiled, "Avalon. Avalon Lee." She replied.

"Really?" Gordon said, "That's beautiful. Just like her."

"Thank you, Gordon." Casey said, "I'll be back in a second, make yourself comfortable." Gordon nodded and sat down on the couch as Casey took Avalon into Charlie's room and laid her down. Walking back into the room, Casey sighed, "She'll be back up soon, but whatever."

Gordon laughed, "I never got to enjoy that part of children."

Casey smiled, "I'm sure that raising two abused children wasn't exactly the fun and games that most people expect from adopted or foster children... You know, get bored and ship them out for another."

"Bitter?" Gordon asked.

Casey sighed, "I haven't been in the best of moods lately." She admitted, "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Gordon said.

Casey sighed, "Would you like some coffee or something?"

"Coffee would be great." Gordon replied. Casey nodded and walked into the kitchen. The sound of clattering dishes reached Gordon's ears and he sighed... He shouldn't have come, he was just going to end up doing something that both he and Casey would regret. Casey reentered the room with coffee and Gordon smiled, "Thanks." He said, taking the cup and sipping.

"You're very welcome." Casey replied, "So, how have you and the kids been?"

"Good." Gordon said, "We've been good. My idiotic brother broke his foot not that long ago and he, of course, blamed me, even though both of my sisters saw that I had nothing to do with it... But Myrka cheers for Nick behind my back."

"What?" Casey asked, "You have a brother and sisters?"

"Oh, yes." Gordon replied, "Nick, Kennedy and Deirdre." Casey nodded, "I never mentioned them?" Casey shook her head no, "Oh... I can't imagine why." Gordon felt like a complete idiot, why hadn't he told her about them before? An uncomfortable silence fell between them and it was broken moments later by the sound of Gordon's cellphone ringing, "Hello?" He asked, "Oh, hi mom." Casey smiled, his mother was checking in on him?

Gordon mumbled a few things to her, but soon hung up, "Is she worried?" Gordon rolled his eyes, "Are you leaving?"

"I have to." Casey raised her eyebrow, "What I mean is is mom hasn't been the most nimble as of late and she needs me to get a couple of things before I get back and she wants to start dinner soon."

Casey giggled, "How sweet. I hope Charlie does the same for me when I'm older." She stood and smiled.

"I'm sure he will." Gordon said, standing as well. They both realized how close they were to each other, but for some reason they couldn't make themselves move. They stared at each other for a moment and, before they knew what they were doing, Gordon and Casey had managed to find themselves in sometime before... They were locked to each other in a deep and passionate kiss. Time seemed to stop and Gordon lost all his cares, while Casey forgot about every bad thing that had happened to her in the past few months. What they didn't realize was that Myrka and Charlie walked in on them. Charlie furrowed his eyebrows and gently pushed Myrka back into the hallway.

"Here we go again." Charlie said bitterly when the door was closed.

"I know the feeling." Myrka replied, "Want to go get some ice cream and drown our sorrows like we are 16 year old girls who just found out that her crush is dating the head cheerleader?"

"What a lovely suggestion." Charlie replied with a voice that sounded like he had just been forced to swallow a lemon. Myrka linked her arm with Charlie's and patted him on the head, "Gee... Thanks."

Back inside the apartment, Gordon and Casey were interrupted by Avalon, who had woken up with a squeal, "I should go check on her."

"Yeah." Gordon replied, "And I should go." Casey nodded, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to... What I mean is... I should go."

Gordon left and Casey sniffled, "I wasn't exactly complaining." She said, wiping a tear from her eye. Sighing, Casey entered the bedroom and cooed over Avalon, "What is it baby?"


	63. Here We Go Again

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(---------)

**AznIntegra-** Thank you for reviewing! Myrka does have a little bit of Dani in her, and the reason for that is that she picked up on Dani so much after they first originally met. After all, Myrka was a child in desperate need of a friend and Dani is as friendly as they come... At least when she likes you. The tango of love between Gordon and Casey was so evident in the first movie, and somewhat in the sequels, that I really don't have much to say about anyone else for the two of them, but that doesn't mean that I can't make Charlie and Myrka squirm a little bit over it... Particularly Charlie because he's had do deal with it since he was in the D-5 Ducks. Like I said before, Dani is the sister and therefore is good at the arm twisting. Of course Dean is a grumpy little man about his inability to resist his sister's arm twisting, but what's he going to do about it?

(---------)

It had been a while since she had gone back to work, but Corrine Banks was glad that her husband had convinced her to take a while off before heading back after her asthma attack, it had given her time to spend with her children and she got to know Claribel better. But now that was over and she was back to work at her interior design company.

"Mrs. Banks?"

"Yes, Elena?" She replied to the young women that was training under her.

"Something is here for you." Elena said.

"Send it in." Corrine said without looking up. Elena nodded and walked out of her mentor's office. Moments later, Corrine looked around in shock at what had happened in her office, "What the...?" She asked out loud, although it was more of a question to herself, when 12 dozen (that's 144, if you don't want to do the math) pink and orange striped tulips where carried into her office and set around her, "Thank you." Corrine said as the men who had carried her flowers in left.

"Mrs. Banks?"

"Yes, Elena?"

"Who are these from?" Elena asked, sniffing one of the flowers, "Ah... That's really pretty."

"Yes, they are." Corrine said, "But I have no idea..." She stopped when she saw a card on the flowers that had been set on her desk. Corrine plucked the card off of it's stand and she read, "Oh..." She whispered, "Philip."

"What?" Elena asked quickly, "What did he write? I wanna know!"

Corrine chuckled, "To the most gorgeous Poindexter in the world, meet me in the science lab." She held her hand over her mouth like she was going to cry.

"That's romantic?" Elena asked.

Corrine sighed, "When we first started dating, Philip always took me to the science lab and had an amazing array of flowers and chocolate covered strawberries and raspberries. His father was one of the biggest contributors to our college, so he could get away with it... He paid the custodians to clean it up. Philip choose the science lab because I was the biggest science dork in the world."

"Uh-huh..." Elena replied, "And science comes out in Interior Design how?"

Corrine chuckled again, "It doesn't. I was always a huge fan of Interior Design, but my parents told me that I had no future if I went that route... They wanted me to become a famous scientist." Elena nodded, "Well, when I met Philip, my friend Ginny told him about my secret desires. He took it upon himself to introduce me to people in the industry. My parents nearly killed him." Elena chuckled, "And when they found out that we were getting married, they nearly died... And when we had the kids..."

"Let me guess." Elena said, "They threatened to disinherit you."

"Something like that." Corrine said.

"So, you going to meet him?"

"Tonight I will." Corrine said, "Maybe things are turning out better then I thought that they would."

(--------)

Adam had never been happier at any time in his life then he was when he was with Dani. Sure, becoming part of the D-5 Ducks, winning the Junior Goodwill Games, and being switched back to the Ducks and pummeling the Varsity the year before were good, but Dani made him fell a way that he had never felt before and it hurt him that he wouldn't get to see her every day once she went back to Chicago... Which was in 24 hours.

But that was in 24 hours. Now Adam was with Dani in the kitchen of her dorm room, and he was very happy to say the least. Dani had her arms around Adam's neck, his hands on her waist, and the two were kissing like there was no tomorrow. After a while, Adam slowed down until he managed to pulled his lips away, although his hands were still on his waist, "Have I gotten better?" He asked.

Dani laughed, "To be honest, you weren't that bad to begin with." Adam smiled smugly, "But, yes, you sort of have." Adam laughed along with her and leaned in to kiss her again, "Isn't anyone going to be wondering where you are?" She asked.

"No." Adam replied, shaking his head, "They know where I am, they're just not crazy enough to actually stop me. And to be honest, I kind of think that Dean wants me to be here. Is that weird or what?"

"Dean's an idiot." Dani replied, "I should know, I shared the womb with him."

Adam chuckled, "Yeah, I don't think I know anyone else who could have dealt with that."

"It's Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection." Dani said, "I was naturally selected to deal with Dean... Great, huh?"

"Fantastic." Adam replied, sarcastically.

"He's not so bad." Dani said, somewhat defending her brother.

"Says the women that is naturally selected to deal with him." Adam quipped.

"Ha ha." Dani replied, deadpanned, "I didn't know that my "Darwin's Theory" comment was going to make such an impression. Maybe I'll have to market it or paten it or something. Hey, a way to make money! That's me, always thinking."

"You are amazing." Adam replied.

"Well thank you." Dani said. Adam smiled, but he became confused when he saw Dani's familiar, smiling demeanor change into scared and business like, "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"What's wrong?" Adam asked. Dani gave him a look that said 'I have no idea what you are talking about', but he knew that she was lying, "Liar." He stated bluntly, "What is it?"

Dani sighed, "Adam, I should have told you this when you got here. Before we started kissing." Adam crossed his arms, a nervous habit of his, and raised his eyebrow in worry, "I don't think that we can work out."

"W-W-What?" Adam sputtered. Had he heard that correctly?

"Adam, you are a wonderful guy and I really care about you." Adam nodded, "But with me going back to Chicago tomorrow, I don't think that we can work out a long distance thing."

"Dani..." Adam managed, not able to think of anything else to say.

Dani sighed, like she was going to cry, "Adam, I just don't think that this will work." Adam sighed, knowing that there was something that she was not telling him, "Please, for both of us, let's just leave it at this." Adam walked over to her and put his hands on her arms, "Adam, please."

"What are you not telling me?" Adam asked.

_'Everything.' _Dani thought to herself, "Nothing... I just don't think..." She walked towards Adam, causing him to back up against the door, "Please, just leave." Adam could tell in her eyes that she wanted to tell him something, but she was fighting with some part of herself that he had never seen before.

"Dani, what is going on?"

"Nothing!" Dani yelled, "Just go!" Adam had never heard her yell like that before and he was sure that she was going to go off the deep end if he stayed. That in mind, Adam opened the door and left. When he had closed the door again, Dani wrapped her arms around herself and fell to the floor in tears.

Adam was almost in tears himself. So this is how Dani felt when he dumped her; like a complete nothing that existed for the sole purpose of existing. On opposite side of the door, Adam and Dani had the exact same thought, "I love you." They whispered, hoping that the other would get the message.

(----------)

Corrine and Philip Banks sat in their kitchen, smiling and laughing like they had when they were kids. Philip had made his famous Chicken Cacciatore and had personally hand dipped strawberries and raspberries in milk and white chocolate. It was shocking to most people that Philip Banks knew how to cook, mainly because he choose not to disclose that bit of information to just anyone.

"What do you think?" Philip asked.

"It's amazing." Corrine replied, "Philip, not that I'm complaining or anything, but why the change?"

"What do you mean, dear?" Philip asked, holding up a milk chocolate covered strawberry.

Corrine sighed, "You've been different since my little trip to the hospital." She said, "I was just wondering why."

Philip sighed and dropped the strawberry, "Dear, I got a huge wake-up call that night." Corrine nervously fidgeted, "It all became clear to me at that point. Everything you tried to tell me about Adam and Monica and Jamie... I just didn't see it before." Corrine sniffled, "And then Jen came to see me at my office and scared my secretary half to death." Corrine chuckled, "She told me that your parents wanted you to divorce me and that you were wondering whether you should or not. Is that true? Did you want a divorce?"

A tear dripped down Corrine's cheek, "No." She replied, willing herself not to cry, "But I thought that it might be the only way to save our family."

"What are you talking about, Corri. It would have ruined our family, not saved it." Philip insisted.

Corrine chuckled, "Corri?" She asked.

"What?"

"You just called me 'Corri'." Corrine repeated, "You haven't called me Corri since before Jamie was born."

"I haven't done a lot of things, Corri." Philip replied, "And I see now that there are a ton of things that I should have been doing that I wasn't. I want you to know that that's over now and I want you to be happy." Corrine smiled and Philip leaned over, kissing her. Corrine responded with kissing him back.

"Oh god!" Two voice called, causing the two to look up. Monica and Jamie were in the room with their eyes covered. Jamie shoved himself against a wall while Monica crouched in the corner.

"Jamie?" Corrine asked, "What are you doing here?"

Jamie sighed, "My loving and beautiful fiancée said that I had to personally re-invite you to the wedding in person." He explained, "So here I am... Is it safe?"

"Ha ha." Philip replied, "Very funny, Jamison David."

"Nice to know you have a sense of humor, dad." Jamie said, lowering his hands from his eyes, "So, are you two going to be able to make it?"

Philip and Corrine smiled to each other, "We wouldn't miss it for the world." Philip replied, "Besides, if your fiancée made you come all the way back home just to re-invite us, how could we resist?"

"We couldn't." Corrine answered.

"That's good to know." Jamie said. The four family members were having a very sweet moment until the sound of a door slamming ended it, "What the hell..." Jamie mumbled.

Seconds later a clearly upset Adam entered the room, "I'm not here, just ignore me." He said before starting up the stars.

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked, jokingly, "You look like you just got dumped." Adam turned back around and glared at his older brother, "Oh, you did just get dumped."

"I don't want to talk about it." Adam said, as he made his way up the stairs.

Corrine sighed, "Oh, my poor baby." She whispered, starting to make her way towards the stairs.

"Mom." Jamie said, "It might be best if we just let him cool off a little before anyone tries to talk to him." Corrine nodded and sighed as she heard her son's door slam, "Wow, I never expected Dani and Adam to break up... They seemed so solid."

Corrine nodded in agreement, _'That's what scaring me.' _She thought to herself.

* * *

**Okay, I know that you all probably hate me right now, so I'm sorry, but I had to end this way. Speaking of ending, I only have one or two more chapters to write in this story, so it's almost over. I hope that everyone had thoroughly enjoyed this story and I hope that you all can forgive me for the way that everything ended up like. Thank you so much to everyone!**


	64. ChiTown

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

(-----------)

**NikChic-** It's okay that you haven't reviewed as of late. I can understand being on holiday and not being able to read anything while you are gone. At least you are reviewing now! I'm sorry, but Dani broke up with Adam. But, you are right, he is very sweet and cute. Dani has her reasons, but they aren't going to be revealed until the sequel... That is, if anyone wants a sequel. Thanks!

**AznIntegra-** Why did Dani do that? What am I hiding? Those are excellent questions. I will explain in due time what is going on through that little head of Dani's. Yes, Myrka became Dani-like because Dani's Dani-ness rubbed off on her from them being friends. Yeah, Gordon will have a lot to deal with if his little girl turns into a mini-Dani. But we will have to see. Thank you so much!

A big thanks to Mrs. St. John Allerdyce!

(-----------)

Julie couldn't believe her ever-crappy luck! She had just gotten back home in Maine and now she had to leave again because she was her father and his business partner, Martin Graham, had to go do something in Chicago. Why did she have to go? Because her stepmother and grandfather were going with him and nobody other then her grandfather trusted her alone for more the 2 seconds.

Sitting in her room, Julie stared at her unpacked suitcases and decided that she wasn't even going to unpack and repack, something that would send Marianne to her last nerve. To most people it would seem like the logical thing to do, but to Marianne it showed laziness and bad hygiene. Julie threw her suitcase with shorts and short sleeve shirts onto the floor to remind her that was the one she needed and she laughed when her kitten, Angelique, jumped and started batting at the suitcase with her tiny paw. Angelique was the youngest kitten of Julie's first cat, Rio, who had died when Marianne 'accidentally' ran him over, and she looked and acted exactly like her father.

"What are you doing, baby girl?" Julie asked Angelique sweetly as she picked the tiny kitten up and kissed her on the nose. Angelique meowed and crawled onto Julie's shoulder and licked Julie's cheek with her sandpaper tongue. Julie laughed, but was interrupted by a knock on the door, "Come in." Julie called.

The door opened and in walked George Gaffney, Julie's grandfather, "How's my beautiful granddaughter?" He asked.

"Hi Grandpa." Julie replied, "I'm fine."

"That doesn't sound to convincing." George replied, walking over to his granddaughter, "What's wrong, Julie?"

Julie sighed and placed Angelique on her lap, "If I tell you, will you promise to not tell anyone, particularly dad and Marianne?" George nodded, "When I was in Minnesota, Mom and Piper moved there." George raised his eyebrows, "And being able to see them was fantastic, but I feel guilty about it. Plus if Dad ever found out he'd pull my scholarship to Eden Hall so that I couldn't see them again. I just wish that I could see them without having to worry about anything. Not to mention it was a little weird hearing Piper call Mom's fiancée 'Dad'."

"Jada is getting married?" George asked.

Julie nodded, "Yeah. He's a really nice guy. His name is Adriaan, A-D-R-I-A-A-N, and he came from the Netherlands. I think Piper said that they had been dating since about a year after the divorce, which is a reason that she would call him Dad, but it's weird... I never thought of anyone but dad as dad."

"You like Adriaan, right?"

"Yeah, he's a great guy." Julie replied.

"Then don't worry about it." George said, "He doesn't have to be 'dad' to you, but he's all that Piper has had ever since your father cut off all communication with her and your mother." Julie nodded, "Ready to go? We have to be at the train station in 30 minutes."

"I'm ready." Julie said, lifting Angelique off of her lap and into a small kitten carrier.

"You're bringing Angelique?" George asked.

"I told dad that if I couldn't bring her then I wasn't going." Julie explained, "No one but you will trust me on my own so he caved."

"That's my girl." George replied, picking up Julie's suitcase. Julie smiled and picked up the kitten carrier, "Ready to go?" Julie nodded, "Then onward my fair lady. You know what they say, ladies first."

"Thank you, my good knight." Julie replied, causing her grandfather to laugh. They always joked around with each other and that was one of the only things that kept Julie sane. The two linked arms and walked out of Julie's room and down to the front hallway of her house, "I'm ready." Julie said, getting her dad and stepmother's attention.

Marianne sighed, "Julietta, did you unpack and then repack?"

Julie took a deep breath, "No, I didn't because I cleaned all of my clothes before I got back home, so I didn't need too. And please don't call me Julietta, I prefer Julie."

"It's not your proper name, Julietta." Marianne replied. Julie bit hard on her tongue so that she wouldn't get in trouble with her father for yelling at Marianne. Julie never wanted anyone but her mother to call her Julietta, and even Jada called her Julie.

"Whatever." Julie said, "Can we go?"

(----------)

From Bangor to Chicago on a train wasn't exactly the way that Julie would have traveled. The group that she was traveling with (her father, stepmother, grandfather, Martin Graham, and his daughter, Rachael) had been given a first class car all to themselves. Sharing a car with Rachael was very awkward because she and Julie had once been best friends, but Rachael turned snobby and bitchy, while Julie became a part of the Ducks. Besides that, Rachael had recently become somewhat jealous of Julie because of Julie's natural blonde hair. Why she was jealous, Julie didn't know. She actually preferred brown on Rachael.

Julie linked with her grandfather and they dawdled behind while Rachael and the other adults ran ahead, "Can someone shoot me now?" Julie whispered.

"Oh, shush, Julie." George replied, "I don't want to be here any more then you do, but maybe I will get a chance to steal you away for myself."

"Why?" Julie asked.

George smiled, "It has come to my attention that your grandmother is lives here in Chicago." Julie raised her eyebrows, her grandmother had died when she was little, "Oh, not that grandmother. I mean Catherine."

"Grams?" Julie asked in a whisper, "But she stayed in British Columbia when mom moved down to Bangor..."

"I know, I know." George replied, "But you know that Catherine was born here in Chicago." Julie nodded, "Well, about a year after Piper was born, she moved back because she missed the states so much. After the divorce was finalized your mother and Piper moved to Peoria because they wanted to be close to her. I think that if Catherine had stayed in Canada, then your mother would have moved them up there, but I digress. The point is is that that women has been calling me and wondering when I would get you away from your father long enough for her to see you and I figured that this would be the best time."

Julie smiled and squealed, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Come along, you two!" Marianne called, "Quit standing there or you will be left behind!"

"I hate her, I hate her, I hate her." Julie whispered, "Why did dad marry her?"

"Because he's a gullible fool." George replied, "He takes after my father and grandfather."

"But you got skipped?" Julie asked.

"Exactly." George said, "But we had better go." Julie nodded and the grandfather/granddaughter duo walked quickly to catch up with the group that had left them.

(-------------)

Maybe the trip to Chicago wasn't so bad. Sure, the weather was like a sauna, but Julie had been excited to find out that the man that her father and Martin Graham were 'studying' was the father of Eve Wilton, Dani's good friend. Eve had given Julie a few moment's of sanity when she had to entertain her and Rachael, who acted like a complete snob the whole time.

Eve had told Julie that Catherine Prince was, in fact, a very knowable face and name in Chicago. She was a big name in women's and children's rights and she fought very hard to help the people in the poor crime and drug infested areas of the city and had worked hard to fund places where kids could go away from the drugs and violence.

After a week, Rachael and Martin Graham left and Julie and George took that time to get some alone time to see Catherine, "So, how do you know where Grams lives?"

"Internet." George stated simply.

"Of course." Julie replied, "Why didn't I think of that?"

"I don't know, Julie." George said. Julie smacked him lightly on the arm and giggled as George rechecked the address again, "Oh, good. Here we are." Julie looked up in amazement at the houses on the street. They were all large and well taken care of and were obviously the homes of rich people like Adam or herself. Sure, they weren't like her farm in Bangor, but for city houses, they defiantly fit the profile for rich housing. Catherine's house was stone and the door, porch, and windowpanes were white and green curtains embroidered with gold thread hung in the windows.

"Wow." Julie whispered

"That's Catherine." George said, walking onto the porch and ringing the doorbell. Moments later, the sound of soft footsteps reached the door, "Hello Jada." George said.

"George." Jada replied in shock, "Julie." Julie stepped forward and hugged her daughter, "Wow. I didn't expect this."

George nodded, "Your mother has been dying to see Julie and we were in town, so I figured that this would be the best opportunity." Julie pulled away and nodded.

"That's wonderful." Jada said, "Please, come in." She stepped out of the way and allowed Julie and George inside.

George laughed, "I see that your mother's neatness has not decreased in the years that I have not seen her." He said, looking around.

Jada shook her head, "No, mom is still as much a neat freak as she ever was." Julie nodded as she looked around. Everything had a place in this house and it seemed that everything was in that place. She and her grandfather followed Jada into the back yard where Catherine was sitting with Piper.

When they entered the back deck, Catherine was sipping on iced tea and talking to Piper about something that Julie didn't catch, "Honey, I was thinking that perhaps you could..."

"Mom." Jada interrupted.

"Not now, dear." Catherine said.

"Hi Grams." Julie said, causing her grandmother to stop dead, "Piper!" Piper stood up and the sisters hugged, "It's been a while." She said, jokingly.

"Yeah." Piper joked, "These past two weeks without you have been the longest." The sisters laughed and separated. Piper smiled and hugged George, "Grandpa."

"Hi Grams."

"Julie?" Catherine asked, "My goodness." She smiled now that the shock was gone and she hugged Julie, "You've grown so much."

"I should hope so." Julie replied.

"You have your mother's sarcasm." Catherine said with a hint of a sigh in her voice, "You two came at just the time when I was going to take everyone on a walk around the neighborhood. I was hoping to get out on a walk today... You all should have called."

"Mom." Jada said, "Does anyone ever call?"

"Unfortunately not."

"Then why would you expect it?" Piper and Julie giggled and Catherine sighed, "Besides, I'm sure that George and Julie wouldn't mind seeing the neighborhood. Neither of them have been to Chicago... At least not to my knowledge."

"Nope." Julie said, "Grandpa?"

"Never." George replied, "And I should get out. I'm not twenty anymore and the bones are starting to show it."

"George, you are not out of shape." Jada said.

"Um, mom?" Julie asked, "Where's Adriaan?"

"He had to work." Jada said, "So he couldn't come." Julie nodded, "So are we going?" Everyone said something in acknowledgment and they walked back through the house and onto the street, "So, George, how have you been? I haven't seen you since I moved from Bangor."

"I've been well." George replied, "I had to have Julie make sure that I didn't strangle my son on several occasions, but other then that it has been very good."

"That's nice to know." Catherine said, "And I hear that Richard has a wife."

"Yes." George replied, "Marianne St. Clair. She and Richard met on a business trip... I really prefer to forget the rest."

"At least you have something to forget, Grandpa." Julie said, "If you remember correctly, I didn't even know anything about her until after the wedding."

"Count your blessings, Julie." George responded with bitterness in his voice. Piper and Julie giggled for a moment.

"So, Jules." Piper said, "What is Marianne like?"

"A certified bitch." Julie replied. Much to no one's surprise, Jada cleared her throat at the badmouthing of another adult, "Mom, trust me, she deserves the title. Besides, she insists on calling me Julietta... Only you can call me Julietta." Jada smiled and half shrugged and half nodded, "Marianne's evil! She ran over Rio!" Piper gasped and Jada stopped dead, "She claimed that it was an accident, but I know that she hated him."

"Animal abuser." Piper whispered. Julie nodded but something else caught her attention, "What?"

"Now _that_ is what I call a house." Julie said, staring at the house behind across the street. It was a corner house that was made entirely of brick and it had a white wrap around veranda. The house was only about two blocks away from Catherine's and Piper wondered how she had failed to notice it before.

"I concur." Piper said, staring along with her sister.

Catherine looked at the house for a moment, "Oh, yes. That house." She said, "That house belongs to the Portman family."

"Portman?" Julie asked, astonished.

"Yes." Catherine replied, "Kal and Alyssa. They are wonderful people. He's a teacher and she co-owns an ice rink/skate-park just about a mile from here. All that and 5 kids..."

"Alec, Dean, Danielle, Caleb, and Felix?" Julie asked.

"Yes." Catherine said, "How did you know?"

"Oh my God." Julie whispered.

"Dean Portman?" George asked, "The one that did the striptease in the penalty box?"

"That's the one, Grandpa." Julie said, "He's as much of a cake-eater as Adam."

"Wait a minute, this means that we have blackmail." Piper said, "We can threaten to tell everyone that he's a cake-eater."

"A what?" The three adults asked.

"It's a term for a rich person that the District 5 Ducks made up. That was before I joined, when it was a Pee-Wee team." Julie explained, "Adam was on another team with a lot of bullies and when he got switched over to the Ducks, they started calling him that. Now it's more of a term of endearment though." Julie knew that they were confused out of their minds, but she was glad that they didn't ask for more of an explanation.

"Hey, Julie." Piper said, "Look." Julie turned around to see that the door was opening. Quick as a flash a large St. Bernard bounded out of the opened door and hopped around the veranda; the leash on his neck showed that he was excited for a walk, "Aw... He's cute."

"I agree." Julie replied. They both watched as the St. Bernard's owner walked out onto the veranda, "Dani!" Dani looked over at who had called her name and gaped in surprise. She grabbed a hold of the St. Bernard's leash and quickly ran across the street, hugging Julie and Piper when she got there, "This is a surprise."

"Yeah, it kinda is." Dani said, "Hello Ms. Prince." She said to Jada, "Hello Mrs... Wait a minute." Dani thought for a second, "I'm just getting that... That's quite a interesting find."

"What? That you've been living about two blocks away from our grandmother your entire life?" Piper asked.

"Only since I was five." Dani corrected.

"Dani," Julie said, "This is our grandfather, George Gaffney."

Dani smiled and was about to put her hand up to shake his when her dog jumped on him, "Bama." Dani said, pulling the dog back, "You don't jump on people." The large dog pleaded with his eyes and Dani cracked, "Oh... I hate it when you do that."

"When he gets you to feel like you have no control?" Julie asked.

"Yup."

"Anyway, it's nice to meet you Mr. Gaffney." Dani said.

"Oh, it's just George." George replied, "Mr. Gaffney is my son."

"Isn't it suppose to be the other way around?" Dani asked. George nodded, "Doesn't that get confusing?" George shook his head, "How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood?"

George thought for a second, "I've never thought about it."

"That's was just my way of trying to make you say something." Dani replied. George laughed, "I'll take that as a compliment." Dani's watch beeped and she sighed as she stopped it, "Where is he?"

"Who?" Piper asked.

"Dean." She clarified, "He was the one who wanted me to wait for him."

"For why?" Julie asked.

Dani shrugged, "I don't know." She said, "He said that he wanted me to wait for him so that we could walk Bama and Nikita together."

"Nikita?" Piper asked.

"Yes." Dani replied, "Nikita is Dean's Pug... She's a sweetheart."

Julie nearly choked on her laugh, "Dean Portman, the Bash Brother, owns a tiny little Pug?"

"Yup. She's his baby." Dani said, "He spoils her." Piper and Julie looked at each other, trying to figure out how that worked, "Dean is a softy if you get to know him." Dani turned, "And speak of the devil." She said as the door opened and a tiny face of a pug poked out of the door. Dean saw that she didn't want to go, so he picked her up and closed the door before setting her down on the porch.

"Aw..." Julie said, "She's so cute."

"Yup, she is." Piper said. She and Dani looked over at one another and knew that they had the same thought in mind, _'That's not the only thing that she thinks is cute.' _

"Dean!" Dani called, gaining her brother's attention. He looked over and stiffened once he saw who was with her, "Get your butt over here." Dean sighed and walked across the street.

"Hey, Dean." Julie said.

"Jules, Piper." Dean said, "What are you doing here?" Dani, Piper, and Julie raised their eyebrows at him. He looked at the group of surrounding adults and he seemed to get the message, "Oh."

"So you're a cake-eater." Julie said, "Amazing what one will learn."

Dean sighed, "Jules, Piper... Could we keep this to ourselves? I kinda have a reputation to maintain."

Julie and Piper looked to one another and shrugged their shoulders. Before anyone could do anything, they raised their fists and punched him in his shoulders, "Sure Portman." Julie said, "Consider your reputation maintained."

Dean held onto his shoulders, "Thanks." He replied in a strained voice.

Julie, Dani, and Piper laughed, but the fun was cut short when Julie's cell phone began ringing, "Hello?" She asked. Rolling her eyes, Julie tried to put on a cheery demeanor, "Hi Dad. Hi Marianne." Julie listened for a second, "I'm with Grandpa like I said I would be." She listened again, but this time her jaw dropped, "That's not fair! But... You said that... Dad! Fine." Julie hung up the phone, "I hate her!"

"What's wrong Julie?" Jada asked.

"I have to go back to the hotel because Marianne convinced Dad that it's not safe for a girl like me to be running around Chicago." Julie said, "Even with Grandpa... And it's not like I'm in a dangerous part of the city." George placed his arm around Julie's shoulder, "I'll see everyone later, I guess."

(----------)

Even thought Julie knew that it wouldn't help, she had managed to sneak out of her hotel just as the sun was setting and ran to the top of a building that she had no idea whether or not she was allowed to be on. She was crying and could barely see, but that wasn't important, all she needed to do was get away from her stepmother.

"Are you allowed to be up here?" A voice asked, causing Julie to turn quickly, "Calm down, Jules. That was just a joke."

"Dean?" Julie asked.

"That would be correct." Dean replied, jumping off the side of the building and walking over to her, "I see that you found my spot."

"Your spot?" She asked.

"My spot." Dean repeated, "This is where I go when I need to think about stuff. This building is my mom's business, so I'm allowed up here."

"Really?" Julie asked, "That's interesting. And ironic."

"It is." Dean said, "So, what's wrong Jules?" Julie furrowed her eyebrows, "You weren't crying for nothing."

"It's nothing." Julie replied.

"That's bullshit and you know it, Julie." Dean said, "Seriously, what's wrong? Is it your stepmonster again?" Julie sighed and nodded, "Yeah, I figured. She seems like a bitch."

"You don't even know her."

"I've heard things about her from you and that's all I need to know." Dean replied. Julie sniffled and tried to stop herself from crying again, "Calm down, Jules. It's okay." It was obvious that Julie was tensing up and it wasn't helping her, so Dean took it upon himself to help. He rested his hands gently on her shoulders and began to gently massage them, "It's okay, Julie. I'm here for you." He said, feeling her loosen up, "Don't worry about her, she's not your problem. Besides, you only have a couple of months before you go back to Eden Hall and then you won't have to deal with her."

"That's too long." Julie replied. "She's going to break me."

"Not if you don't let her." Dean said, "We have next year at Eden Hall, then the year after that and then you're home free." He added, "You only have to deal with her a little longer and then you're out of there."

"What if I can't deal with her, even just for a little while longer?" Julie asked.

"You're stronger then her, Julie." Dean said, "Just remember that and she can't get to you. She'll make you angry, but she's lower then you."

Julie turned and Dean let his hands slide off of her shoulders, "Thanks Dean." She said.

"No problem." Dean replied. To his surprise, Julie leaned forward and hugged him, "Um... Thanks." Julie smile and swept her hair behind her ears. Dean could help but notice how kissable her neck looked as she did this. Julie looked up at him and got lost in his eyes. She had never noticed that they got lighter the closer they got to his pupil, "Julie?"

"Oh, sorry." Julie said, "I've just never noticed that you have nice eyes." Wait a minute, did she just say that?

"Thanks." It was at that moment that Dean noticed how close Julie still was to him. Not able to help himself, Dean leaned forward and kissed Julie on the lips. Julie was shocked, but she decided to go with it, much to Dean's amazement. Julie's lips were soft and addictive to Dean and his were the same to Julie. She ran her hands up his arms and shoulders, resting them on neck. Dean, on the other hand, cupped her cheeks in his hands and pulled back, "Wow." He whispered.

"Right back at ya." Julie said, lowering her hands. Dean smiled and ran his hands down Julie's arms, "But don't get cocky."

"Not cocky. Confident." Dean replied.

"Really?" Julie asked, "And what are you confident about now?"

Dean chuckled, "That you're going to kiss me again."

Julie shrugged, "Sometimes it pays to be confident." She said, resting her hands on Dean's arms and pulling him towards her, their lips meeting in a soft and gentle kiss.

* * *

**One more chapter everyone! I can't believe that it's almost over! Who wants me to write a sequel? Or should I just end it after the next chapter? I want to know what you want!**


	65. Haven't We Been Here Before?

**Life's Full of Little Surprises**

**Disclaimer:** I own absolutely none of the 'Mighty Duck' characters or the rights to the "Mighty Duck" franchise, that honor belongs to Disney. So I would appreciate that I wouldn't get sued over something I don't own.

**Summary:** Dani's life couldn't be going better. She has finally made it to the Olympics, doing the sport she loves the most. But... after arriving in Minneapolis, Minnesota things change. First she is constantly badgered by her brother, then she falls for one of his friends, and, of course, there is always a stalker!

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**AznIntegra-** I can't end it with the this chapter? I'm sorry, but I kind of have to. I'm glad that you think it is really good, but all good things must come to an end. Yes, Julie wants to murder Marianne, but no she can not. Why? Because we need Julie to stay out of jail. It would be bad if Julie went to jail. It is ironic that Julie, Piper, and their mother were in Chicago and met up with Dani... But you never know what can happen. That's they way life is.

**mickEmousina-** Thank you so much! I like to know that people like what is going on. You basically hit the nail on the head with the amount of OC's. I just wanted to show that all of the Ducks had their own lives and do their own things. Thanks again!

**Angelrain32515-** Yes, Julie and Dean got together. I'm glad that you have stuck around for 64 chapters and that you have enjoyed them. It is sad that it's over, but that means new things are going to happen and that everyone is going to grow up. There are a lot of situations going on in this story and I hope that it wasn't too tedious for anyone; I'm glad you fell in love with them.

**dramaaddict-** What took me so long? Brain freeze. I was trying to figure a lot of stuff out and couldn't think about the previous chapter. I'm glad you waited around though.

**nibler-** Yeah, Adam and Dani broke up. I'm sorry, but it had to happen. Everyone wants a happy ending. Yes, in the beginning I said that Dani had had medical problems when she was younger. That will most definitely make an entrance in the sequel, which I will have. It might actually be a big point, but I haven't decided yet.

Thank many, many thanks to brokenwriter, NikChic, Mrs. St. John Allerdyce, Sweet-Romantic, figgieskater9, and mdgirl18!

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Dean sat on his bed, leaning against the headboard, wondering what the hell was going to happen when he got to Eden Hall. He had had the time of his life with Julie when she was in Chicago, even if she had only been there a few days, but now that she had been back in Maine and had time to think, maybe she didn't feel the same way that he did anymore. That thought, and the uncertainty of how is friendship with Julie would be affected, scared the crap out of him, "I have never been whipped before." He whispered, banging his head on the headboard.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" A voice in the doorway asked.

Dean looked at his door and sighed, "Yes, dad. It does."

"I felt the same way when I first met your mother." Kal replied, "And to be quite honest, I still am. The right women will have the effect on you." He stepped inside his son's room and sat down on the rolling chair at the foot of Dean's bed, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do I have a choice?" Dean asked.

"Of course you do." Kal replied.

Sighing, Dean ran his hand through his hair. Normally his dad was the person he would go to for advice, but he had never needed advice about girls before, they just sort of flocked to him. Besides, this was Julie, not some one week floozy that he wanted to get with because he was bored, "It's about Julie."

"Oh... The plot, like gravy, thickens."

"Dad!"

"Sorry, son." Kal replied, "Continue."

"It's just that over the past year I've noticed that I kind of started feeling a little... friendlier, I guess you could say, around Julie." Kal raised his eyebrows, "What? No remark to match?" Kal shook his head and motioned for his son to continue, "Well, when she was here we kind of..."

"Oh God." Kal said, "You two didn't..."

"Dad! No!" Dean shot back, "You're the adult, get your demented mind out of the gutter, please."

Kal sighed, "I had to ask." He said, "So in about 10 to 15 years if your mother finds out about this little conversation I can safely tell her that I asked all of the important questions. You have seen your mother angry, correct?"

Dean shuttered. He had and he never wanted to again, "Never get an Italian women mad. They tend to get you in trouble."

"I learned this the hard way." Kal said, "But continue on with the story."

"Well," Dean said, "She was upset and I was consoling her... And giving her a shoulder rub..."

"Um-hum." Kal said.

"And I sort of ended up making out with her on the roof of The Rink."

Kal furrowed his eyebrows, "How did you end up making out with again?"

"She complimented my eyes." Dean mumbled.

Kal sighed, "My god, you really are my son." Dean snorted, "Well, that sounds exactly like something that I would do when I was 16. I would do almost anything when I got a compliment when I was your age."

"Yeah, see, Dad, that's just a little too much information." Dean said, groaning.

"Not like _that_." Kal replied, "Let's get off this subject because I am going to end up putting my foot in my mouth and your mother will have to kill me." Dean nodded, "Dean, how do you feel about Julie?"

Sighing, Dean mumbled, "I think she's absolutely amazing and I am completely pathetic."

"Same with me about your mother." Kal replied, "Look son, if you really like her as much as you say you do, then talk to her. She obviously responded in a way that didn't involve you getting slapped, so don't avoid it."

"Yeah, don't avoid it." Dean and Kal looked around to see Dani leaning against the door, "Do you have any clue how long Piper and I have been trying to push you two together?" Dean's jaw dropped. What? "Even Fulton what like 'What the heck is the matter with them?' I don't even comprehend why the other Ducks can't see it."

"Thanks, Dan." Dean replied sarcastically.

"Well." Kal said, "I'd love to stay, but I have to go change and stare nervously into the mirror."

"Why?" Dani asked.

Kal sighed, "Well, I got a call about three days ago from your Aunt Mickie." Dani nearly squealed, but she managed to contain herself, "She said that she has moved here and that she wants to reignite our sibling relationship and she wants me to meet her significant other." Dani now managed to stop herself from laughing, boy was he in for a surprise, "So, she suggested that we go out to lunch and I want to look good."

"Dad, you're her brother." Dani said.

"Yeah, she doesn't care what you're wearing." Dean added, "And besides, you're the older one."

"I hope you're right. About her not caring, I mean." Kal sighed as he left the room.

"Nifty." Dani said, "Boy is he in for a surprise." She mumbled when she knew that her father couldn't hear her.

"Why?" Dean asked.

"Well, when I was in Philly I saw Aunt Mickie, you know that." Dean nodded, "Well, I also met this significant other."

"So." Dean said.

"Name's Evey." Dani replied, "Short for Evelyn." Dean's eyes widened, "Yeah, dad's definitely not expecting that." Dean nodded, "So, when are you going?"

"Now." Dean replied, "I've been putting off going for the past hour because I wasn't sure that I wanted to see Julie so soon."

"Dude, get over it." Dani said, sighing at how idiotic her brother could be, "Look, Jules is totally into you. As much as I hate to admit it and as much as I know that that big head of yours will only get bigger, she's crazy about you as a friend and as someone she would want to go out with."

Dean sighed, "You sure, Dan?"

"How many times have I been wrong about this?" Dani asked, "Honestly?" Dean gulped. Dani did have a point, but was that how Julie really felt, or had everything changed over the summer?

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All of the Ducks had arrived at Eden Hall for their Junior year, but they were all off in different directions at the moment. Julie was extremely nervous, but also extremely excited, to see Dean. She only hoped that she wasn't going to be made a fool of. Although she knew that Dean was at Eden Hall, Julie had yet to see him. She was sitting with Tammy and Fulton, who's conversation she had a feeling she was intruding on, "Hey, Fulton?" She asked.

"Yeah?" Fulton replied, slightly disappointed at having to be pulled away from whispering sweet nothings into Tammy's ear. Julie could tell that those two were going to be the talk of the school.

"Have you seen Dean?" Julie asked.

Fulton nodded, wondering why Julie was asking, "Yeah." He replied, "He's still in our room. The Dean and Alumni got wise and put us back together. Can you believe they wanted to put us with other people? Why do you ask?" He added, sounding like an afterthought. When Piper told him that Julie had turned up in Chicago over the summer and that they had seen Dean and Dani, Fulton couldn't help but wonder what would happen between the two.

"Just wanted to talk to him." Julie said, "Excuse me."

Julie walked off, towards the dorm rooms and Tammy chuckled when she was out of hearing range, "Now that is the march of one brave little toaster."

"'Brave little toaster', baby?" Fulton asked, immensely confused.

Tammy sighed, "Fulton, it's obvious that something happened between them when she was in Chicago. Maybe he hit on her. Maybe she hit on him. I don't know, but it's something that she needs to talk to him about. That's why she raced off."

"But 'brave little toaster'?"

"I was watching the episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Oz leaves Willow and Xander said that her drunken dance was the dance of a brave little toaster." Tammy explained, "He did leave her, after all, and she was trying to get through it."

Fulton furrowed his eyebrows, "What does that have to do with Julie and Dean?" He asked.

"What I mean is she's brave to go talk to him." Tammy said, "Dean isn't exactly known for staying with one girl too long and even though he's crazy about Julie, he might get a little skittish."

"This is true." Fulton replied, wondering just exactly what was going to happen between his best friend and a spitfire like Julie. If anything, it was going to be school news for a long time.

Julie continued her way to the dorms, not aware that Tammy and Fulton had just had a conversation about her, nor that Fulton had had a thought about her and Dean that she had just had about him and Tammy, "God I hope he still wants to be around me." Julie whispered, walking into the building. She remembered seeing Fulton come out of the last room on the second floor, so she hoped that that was actually his room.

Gulping, Julie knocked on the door and waited. After a few minutes, Julie heard, "Come in!" Yup, it was Fulton's room alright. She knew the voice of Dean Portman was the voice inside. Gulping again, Julie opened the door and walked in. When she closed it, Dean, who was leaning over his bed in order to make it for the only time that it would be made the entire school year, looked up, "Oh, hey Jules." He said.

"Hi Dean." She replied, noticing that Dean was wearing jeans and a white wife-beater and his leather jacket was hanging on the end of his bed. _'God Almighty, he looks amazing.'_ Julie thought, "How have you been?" She asked, trying to make casual conversation.

Dean nodded, "I've been good." He said, "Although I must admit, Chicago got a little boring after you left, but..." Dean trailed off. Maybe it wasn't the best idea for them to talk about her little trip to Chicago.

"Yeah." Julie replied, "I enjoyed Chicago." Dean's imagination went into overdrive. Did that mean that she enjoyed being with him, or that she just liked visiting Chicago? Wait a minute, why was he being to paranoid? Of course she meant that she just liked visiting. That had to be the answer. Didn't it?

"Well, I'm glad you did." Dean said, getting back to making his bed. He had promised his mother he'd make it, he just didn't specify how many times he would.

Nodding, Julie sighed, "Dean, we need to talk."

"About?" Dean sighed, hoping that Julie wasn't going to tell him that she just thought of him as a friend and that she was sorry about what had happened during her stay in Chicago.

"About what we did." Julie said, knowing that Dean knew what she was talking about.

"Oh." Dean said, "That. Look, Jules... I'm sorry about that."

Finding herself wanting to cry at what he said, Julie did her best to keep a straight face, "Really?" She asked. Dean didn't really mean that, but he face couldn't tell Julie that. She saw no emotion whatsoever and that scared her even more, "Because..." She said, taking a deep breath, "I'm not." Taking a risk, Julie decided to tell him the truth and she hoped that she wouldn't get hurt to badly.

"You aren't?" Dean asked.

Julie shook her head, "Not a bit."

In all honesty Dean could say that he hadn't been expecting that, "Jules, I... What I mean is... Well, I didn't know how you felt, so..."

"You're rambling."

"I noticed." Dean replied.

Smiling, Julie walked closer, "Well, now that we know that, I was kind of hoping that we could start back up where we left off."

"And where was that?" Dean asked, chuckling.

"You forgot?" Julie asked, planting a light kiss on his lips.

Dean smiled, "You know what, it's kind of coming back to me... But I think I need a little more..." Julie cut him off, getting what he meant. The kiss was as amazing as it had been in Chicago and Dean didn't mind fulfilling his end of the bargain. It's not like he was going to leave her hanging, he wasn't that kind of guy.

Pulling back, Julie smiled, "You want me." She stated in a very un-Julie-like way.

"Oh, really?" Dean asked. Julie nodded, "Look who's cocky now."

"Not cocky." Julie replied, remembering what Dean had told her in Chicago. Leaning forward and standing on her toes, Julie whispered into his ear, "Confident."

As Julie settled her feet firmly on the floor, Dean smiled, "And just what are you so confident about?" He asked. Julie raised her eyebrows, "You're right. Dumb question." Once again, they kissed and both of them enjoyed every second of it.

As they separated again, Julie said, "I think we better go. Dean Buckley is going to start the assembly soon."

Dean groaned, "Do we have to?" He whined, "Can't we just stay here?"

"No." Julie replied, crossing her arms across her chest.

Dean sighed, "Okay." He shook his head and pulled on his leather jacket.

Smiling, Julie took Dean's hand in hers and kissed the back of it, "Come on." Dean nodded, pulling Julie closer to him while keeping their hands intertwined. The two left the room and walked down to the main building together.

-

"So, has anyone seen Julie?" Piper asked, standing with the Ducks before they all entered the main building for the start of term assembly.

"We talked to her for a while and then she left." Tammy said, "We think that she went up to the dorms." Piper nodded.

"Hey, look." Averman said out of the blue, causing everyone to jump, "There she is now. And she's with Portman." The group looked over and saw that Julie and Dean were, indeed, walking together, "And they are... holding hands." Averman added in a stunned voice.

"Holy crap." Charlie said.

"Oh my God." Guy added.

"That is unexpected." Connie replied.

"When did that happen?" Adam asked.

Piper and Fulton looked to each other and both voiced what they were thinking, "It's about damn time." They said, gaining shocked looks from the baffled and confused Ducks, "What?" They asked.

"What what?" Julie asked as she and Dean finally made it to the group.

The Ducks stared in silence at their friends. They could all say that they never would have expected Julie and Dean to ever be holding hands, "I think they all lost the ability to speak, Jules."

"Uh-huh." Julie replied, "Apparently."

"When did this happen?" Luis asked, pointing to their hands.

"And don't lie." Goldberg warned.

Julie and Dean looked to each other and then back to the Ducks, and then they shrugged with a simple, "Don't know." In all factuality, they really didn't. Neither of them could say the exact time that they found the other attractive, nor could they say if they were officially a couple at the moment, but they both hoped that they were.

"Would you quit staring?" Julie asked.

"Yeah, it's creepy." Dean added.

"Julie and Portman." Russ mumbled, "What?"

Dwayne stood up, "Well, I can't say that I expected this, but I can say that they do look kinda cute together." They were about to thank him, but then he went on, "Just like two love-sick little horses during mating season." That killed it. Neither one of them wanted to think about horses during mating season.

"Gee, thanks Dwayne." Dean mumbled, not quite sure where mating horses came into play. He and Julie had only just somewhat 'gotten together'.

From behind Julie and Dean, everyone heard two particularly preppy girls whisper, "Bitch!"

Julie chuckled, "I was wondering who was going to say that first." She mumbled.

"It's because I'm that manly." He said, "I'm just a stud." Julie sighed, smacking him on the chest, "Ow! Demon women."

"You better believe it." Julie replied, "I can be evil."

Dean sighed, "Is it wrong that I actually want to see that?" He asked.

"Eww!" Piper said, "Off of this subject, please. I don't need to know what you two do alone." Julie rolled her eyes, "We'd better get inside. I hear that these things are really boring and I want to get a good place where I can fall asleep if need be." The Ducks agreed and they all followed, all of them except Charlie and Adam.

"Banksie?" Charlie asked when everyone had gone inside, "What's wrong."

Adam sighed, "It's not fair." He replied, "It's just not fair."

"What isn't?" Charlie asked, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder, "What happened."

"You know what happened." Adam replied, "I'm happy for Jules and Portman, I really am, but I just don't see why Dani and I could work out."

"Dani was crazy about you." Charlie replied, trying to make his best friend feel better.

"_Was_." Adam said, "Past tense."

Sighing, Charlie said, "I know it hurts now, but you'll get over it." Adam wanted to shake his head and tell Charlie that that wasn't going to happen, but he didn't have the strength to do something like that, "And when you do, you will have hundreds of girls drooling at your feet."

_'But I don't want them.' _Adam thought, "Sure man." He replied, "I need another minute to myself. Save me a seat will you." Charlie nodded and ran inside, leaving Adam alone. All by himself, Adam thought. It was ironic that just a year before Charlie had been heckling him to get a girlfriend and now that he had been dumped Charlie was telling him to take his time and get over it, but Adam knew that that was impossible. Dani wasn't the kind of girl that he could get over; he would love her until the day he died. Reaching in his pocket, Adam pulled out a picture of Dani that he had managed to snap of her while she was looking off into space. She looked amazing. Her hair was whipping in the wind and the sun was setting behind her, so she looked like she was glowing, "I love you Danielle Portman." Adam whispered, "I always will." With that he gently kissed the photograph and placed it back in his pocket. Checking his watch, he ran into the building and onto Dean Buckley's newest boring lecture.

* * *

**Oh my Gosh! It's over! Am I the only one that wants to cry? Oh, well. One must move on and that is what I plan on doing. I will have a sequel up as soon as a do some more work on my other stories. It shouldn't be too long, so I hope you all will not mind the wait!**


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